Dave
Dave was given to 55 boys in 2025, #2,456 among boys’ names; 64,492 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 35,400 Americans named Dave and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (55% of everyone recorded); the median is 66 years old and half are between 60 and 71.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Dave by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Dave mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Dave is “a diminutive of the male given name David, also used as a formal given name.”
/deɪv/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Dave?
#2,456 among boys’ names, 2025
Dave fell from #2,152 in 2015 to #2,456 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 33.4 to 32.2 per million.
3,308 babies in 1959, the peak
Dave peaked in 1959, when 3,308 boys were given it, #119 among boys’ names. The 55 births of 2025 are 2% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 55 | #2,456 | 0.03 |
| 2024 | 76 | #2,017 | 0.04 |
| 2023 | 65 | #2,193 | 0.04 |
| 2022 | 60 | #2,356 | 0.03 |
| 2021 | 64 | #2,199 | 0.04 |
| 2020 | 72 | #1,982 | 0.04 |
| 2019 | 67 | #2,136 | 0.04 |
| 2018 | 76 | #1,940 | 0.04 |
| 2017 | 81 | #1,831 | 0.04 |
| 2016 | 55 | #2,369 | 0.03 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 64 | #2,152 | 0.03 |
| 2014 | 77 | #1,892 | 0.04 |
| 2013 | 78 | #1,832 | 0.04 |
| 2012 | 78 | #1,864 | 0.04 |
| 2011 | 70 | #1,971 | 0.04 |
| 2010 | 71 | #1,959 | 0.04 |
| 2009 | 84 | #1,790 | 0.04 |
| 2008 | 94 | #1,642 | 0.05 |
| 2007 | 101 | #1,555 | 0.05 |
| 2006 | 90 | #1,605 | 0.04 |
| 2005 | 100 | #1,462 | 0.05 |
| 2004 | 100 | #1,416 | 0.05 |
| 2003 | 115 | #1,254 | 0.06 |
| 2002 | 109 | #1,242 | 0.06 |
| 2001 | 98 | #1,324 | 0.05 |
| 2000 | 96 | #1,332 | 0.05 |
| 1999 | 103 | #1,222 | 0.05 |
| 1998 | 91 | #1,300 | 0.05 |
| 1997 | 91 | #1,263 | 0.05 |
| 1996 | 90 | #1,236 | 0.05 |
| 1995 | 113 | #1,053 | 0.06 |
| 1994 | 115 | #1,035 | 0.06 |
| 1993 | 123 | #972 | 0.06 |
| 1992 | 123 | #971 | 0.06 |
| 1991 | 133 | #907 | 0.07 |
| 1990 | 124 | #922 | 0.06 |
| 1989 | 128 | #888 | 0.06 |
| 1988 | 162 | #742 | 0.08 |
| 1987 | 134 | #802 | 0.07 |
| 1986 | 142 | #762 | 0.08 |
| 1985 | 149 | #723 | 0.08 |
| 1984 | 152 | #708 | 0.08 |
| 1983 | 148 | #704 | 0.08 |
| 1982 | 172 | #666 | 0.09 |
| 1981 | 170 | #658 | 0.09 |
| 1980 | 160 | #685 | 0.09 |
| 1979 | 155 | #686 | 0.09 |
| 1978 | 165 | #654 | 0.10 |
| 1977 | 189 | #610 | 0.12 |
| 1976 | 181 | #609 | 0.12 |
| 1975 | 186 | #591 | 0.12 |
| 1974 | 227 | #527 | 0.14 |
| 1973 | 240 | #504 | 0.15 |
| 1972 | 313 | #448 | 0.19 |
| 1971 | 414 | #398 | 0.23 |
| 1970 | 519 | #358 | 0.28 |
| 1969 | 562 | #326 | 0.31 |
| 1968 | 666 | #284 | 0.38 |
| 1967 | 774 | #258 | 0.44 |
| 1966 | 868 | #240 | 0.49 |
| 1965 | 1,159 | #211 | 0.62 |
| 1964 | 1,535 | #179 | 0.77 |
| 1963 | 1,996 | #161 | 1.0 |
| 1962 | 2,362 | #145 | 1.1 |
| 1961 | 2,802 | #130 | 1.3 |
| 1960 | 3,050 | #122 | 1.4 |
| 1959 | 3,308 | #119 | 1.5 |
| 1958 | 2,957 | #126 | 1.4 |
| 1957 | 2,179 | #155 | 1.0 |
| 1956 | 1,355 | #200 | 0.64 |
| 1955 | 1,050 | #223 | 0.51 |
| 1954 | 834 | #240 | 0.41 |
| 1953 | 768 | #245 | 0.39 |
| 1952 | 769 | #242 | 0.40 |
| 1951 | 743 | #246 | 0.39 |
| 1950 | 874 | #216 | 0.49 |
| 1949 | 1,163 | #182 | 0.66 |
| 1948 | 1,508 | #161 | 0.86 |
| 1947 | 1,693 | #155 | 0.93 |
| 1946 | 1,398 | #160 | 0.86 |
| 1945 | 1,077 | #164 | 0.80 |
| 1944 | 1,125 | #163 | 0.83 |
| 1943 | 1,089 | #167 | 0.76 |
| 1942 | 1,054 | #162 | 0.76 |
| 1941 | 864 | #177 | 0.70 |
| 1940 | 769 | #186 | 0.66 |
| 1939 | 663 | #193 | 0.60 |
| 1938 | 626 | #203 | 0.56 |
| 1937 | 593 | #205 | 0.56 |
| 1936 | 525 | #220 | 0.51 |
| 1935 | 469 | #247 | 0.45 |
| 1934 | 458 | #251 | 0.44 |
| 1933 | 375 | #271 | 0.38 |
| 1932 | 387 | #277 | 0.37 |
| 1931 | 383 | #283 | 0.37 |
| 1930 | 339 | #309 | 0.31 |
| 1929 | 332 | #304 | 0.31 |
| 1928 | 324 | #310 | 0.29 |
| 1927 | 378 | #293 | 0.34 |
| 1926 | 353 | #301 | 0.32 |
| 1925 | 362 | #300 | 0.32 |
| 1924 | 343 | #309 | 0.30 |
| 1923 | 322 | #324 | 0.29 |
| 1922 | 325 | #318 | 0.30 |
| 1921 | 320 | #332 | 0.29 |
| 1920 | 373 | #291 | 0.35 |
| 1919 | 361 | #277 | 0.37 |
| 1918 | 358 | #287 | 0.35 |
| 1917 | 322 | #289 | 0.35 |
| 1916 | 329 | #282 | 0.37 |
| 1915 | 295 | #293 | 0.35 |
| 1914 | 267 | #267 | 0.41 |
| 1913 | 249 | #235 | 0.49 |
| 1912 | 222 | #233 | 0.52 |
| 1911 | 135 | #219 | 0.60 |
| 1910 | 178 | #169 | 0.92 |
| 1909 | 102 | #209 | 0.62 |
| 1908 | 116 | #184 | 0.75 |
| 1907 | 107 | #193 | 0.73 |
| 1906 | 98 | #185 | 0.74 |
| 1905 | 137 | #150 | 1.0 |
| 1904 | 102 | #177 | 0.80 |
| 1903 | 88 | #185 | 0.74 |
| 1902 | 112 | #157 | 0.91 |
| 1901 | 105 | #150 | 1.0 |
| 1900 | 166 | #135 | 1.1 |
| 1899 | 120 | #133 | 1.1 |
| 1898 | 127 | #140 | 1.0 |
| 1897 | 121 | #134 | 1.1 |
| 1896 | 118 | #141 | 1.0 |
| 1895 | 139 | #120 | 1.2 |
| 1894 | 129 | #121 | 1.1 |
| 1893 | 113 | #134 | 1.0 |
| 1892 | 138 | #122 | 1.1 |
| 1891 | 124 | #113 | 1.2 |
| 1890 | 152 | #110 | 1.4 |
| 1889 | 116 | #120 | 1.0 |
| 1888 | 146 | #114 | 1.2 |
| 1887 | 111 | #120 | 1.1 |
| 1886 | 139 | #112 | 1.3 |
| 1885 | 128 | #109 | 1.2 |
| 1884 | 159 | #97 | 1.4 |
| 1883 | 135 | #101 | 1.3 |
| 1882 | 139 | #106 | 1.2 |
| 1881 | 135 | #95 | 1.3 |
| 1880 | 131 | #102 | 1.2 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Dave a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Dave has been given almost only to boys: 114 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Dave: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Dave, and how old are they?
35,400 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 55% of the 64,492 Americans ever recorded as Dave. The median Dave alive today is 66 years old; half are between 60 and 71.
The 2020 Census counted 67,929 people named Dave (186 women and girls, 67,743 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 40,004 born in the U.S. The Census count is 1.7 times that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 2,910 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 22,200 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 5,840 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 2,070 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 1,470 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 883 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Dave born?
The states with the most babies named Dave are California, Ohio and Michigan, with 30% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 7,549 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| Ohio | 4,804 | not ranked | 1.5× |
| Michigan | 4,326 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| Illinois | 3,739 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| New York | 3,086 | #1,615 | 0.6× |
| Pennsylvania | 2,797 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Texas | 2,149 | #2,659 | 0.6× |
| Washington | 2,145 | not ranked | 2.3× |
| Wisconsin | 1,837 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Indiana | 1,801 | not ranked | 1.1× |
Where Dave is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Dave is most over-represented in Washington: since 1910 it was given 2.3 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Dave with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 5 names spelled alike, given to 78,137 babies since 1880, Dave is the most given (83% of them). In 2025 it was given to 55 of their 366 babies (15%), the fourth most given that year.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Dave
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Dave and names like it
- Compare Dave and DavieBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sDave peaked in 1959.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Dave since 1910.
- The top names of 1959The year the most babies were named Dave.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Dave alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with DMost given first.