Dave.

MEANING & HISTORY

What does Dave mean?

Dave is the familiar short form of David, a relationship explicitly recorded in the Tagalog and Cebuano accounts. David’s Hebrew root is conventionally understood as beloved, corroborated by the scholarly medieval-name dictionary.

The clipped Dave retains its own spelling and can be used independently; a database should not replace it with David merely because the historical connection is known. Davey and Davy are related familiar formations with additional endings. The affectionate root explains the name family without stating what a particular family intended or predicting a child’s relationships.