Davey: meaning “Beloved”, origin & popularity

Meaning & origin

What it means

Davey is a variant of David. “Beloved” or “darling” is a traditional interpretation. The original linguistic explanation is less certain than that familiar meaning may suggest.

Explained through its name family

Where it comes from

Davey is a variant of David. David is a Hebrew biblical name, although its precise Hebrew derivation remains uncertain.

Explained through its name family

How it developed

In English usage, Davey is a diminutive of David. Davey is a variant of David. The shared background comes through David: One explanation connects David with a Hebrew nursery word meaning “darling.” This remains a proposed derivation rather than an established breakdown into separate elements.

Combines direct and name-family evidence

The story

Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1925. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Davey is a variant of David. The history of David gives this family its wider story. The biblical David is remembered as the young challenger of Goliath and later king of Israel. In Britain, the patron saint of Wales and two medieval Scottish kings gave the name further local associations.

Combines direct and name-family evidence

Davey through the years

Babies since 1880: 3,568; 3,346 boys · 222 girls
Most popular year: 1955; 93 babies
2025: 65; #3,394 for boys · #4,477 for girls
2021–25 vs 2016–20: +74%; Rising fast

Boys Girls

Davey in U.S. Social Security birth records, 1925–2025, per million births of each sex. Years with fewer than five births for a sex are not published and appear as zero. Use the arrow keys to step through years.

Where it’s given

Most at home inCalifornia

FewerMore, relative to births Not published

2025 births by state of birth. Tiles are equal-sized so small states stay visible. Highest rates: California (16).

By the numbers

In 2025, this name appeared in 34 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 3,394 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 53.3% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 93 in 1955. It also appeared in 31 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (8). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 2,556 as a first name in 2020; 8,879 as a surname in 2020.

From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.

Davey’s family of names

In English usage, Davey is a diminutive of David. Davey has a related form in Davy. Davey is an affectionate form of David.

Walk Davey’s family in the name graph

Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.

Hover or tab through the constellation to see how each name is related. Bigger dots are names more people in the U.S. share.

Nicknames & forms 2

Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.

Spellings & scripts 3

The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.

Across languages 9

Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.

Show 1 moreShow fewer

Taavetequivalent

People named Davey

Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.

Similar names

If you love Davey, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.

Shared

Sibling ideas

Names that share Davey’s feel without repeating its first letter or rhyming with it.

A brother for Davey

A sister for Davey

Your shortlist

Davey