David

Beloved.

David is a masculine name of Hebrew origin, traditionally understood as “beloved”. The biblical king David gives it a strong historical and religious association, while the meaning itself is simply affectionate: “beloved by God” adds an interpretation that is not stated in the name. David keeps this spelling in English, German, French and Spanish, but its sound changes. English begins like day; German has a long a and a final t sound, while Spanish stresses the last syllable. For a family using more than one language, those forms can coexist without changing the written name. Its clearly bounded consonants give David a steady shape, and the meaning brings warmth without requiring an elaborate or decorative name.

Etymology: From Hebrew דָּוִד (Dawid), traditionally linked to a word for “beloved”.