David m English, Hebrew, French, Scottish, Welsh, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Czech, Slovene, Russian, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Romanian, Biblical, Biblical LatinFrom the Hebrew name
דָּוִד (Dawid), which was derived from Hebrew
דּוֹד (dod) meaning
"beloved" or
"uncle". David was the second and greatest of the kings of Israel, ruling in the 10th century BC. Several stories about him are told in the Old Testament, including his defeat of
Goliath, a giant Philistine. According to the New Testament,
Jesus was descended from him.
... [more] Davis m EnglishFrom an English surname that was derived from the given name
David. A famous bearer of the surname was Jefferson Davis (1808-1889), the only president of the Confederate States of America.
Daviti m GeorgianForm of
Davit with the nominative suffix, used in Georgian when the name is written stand-alone.
Dawson m EnglishFrom an English surname meaning
"son of David". As a given name, it was popularized in the late 1990s by the central character on the television drama
Dawson's Creek (1998-2003). In the United States the number of boys receiving the name increased tenfold between 1997 and 1999. It got another boost in 2014 after it was used for a main character in the movie
The Best of Me.
Dax m EnglishFrom an English surname, which was derived either from the town of Dax in France or from the Old English given name
Dæcca (of unknown meaning). The name was brought to public attention by the main character in the 1966 novel
The Adventurers and its 1970 movie adaptation. It became popular in the 2010s due to its similarity to other names like
Max and
Jax.
Dayton m EnglishFrom an English surname that was derived from places named
Deighton, meaning
"ditch town" in Old English. Dayton is also the name of a city in Ohio. As a given name, it gained a bit of popularity in the 1990s, probably because it shares a similar sound with names such as
Peyton and
Clayton.
Dazhdbog m Slavic MythologyPossibly means
"the giving god" in Slavic. He was a Slavic god of the sun and light, a son of Svarog. In some myths he is the ancestor of the Russian people.
Deacon m English (Modern)Either from the occupational surname
Deacon or directly from the vocabulary word
deacon, which refers to a cleric in the Christian church (ultimately from Greek
διάκονος (diakonos) meaning "servant").
Dean m EnglishFrom a surname, see
Dean 1 and
Dean 2. The actor James Dean (1931-1955) was a famous bearer of the surname.
Debdas m BengaliBengali form of
Devadas. This is the name of a 1917 novel by the Bengali author Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay.
Decebal m RomanianMeans
"powerful, brave" in Dacian. This was the name adopted by Diurpaneus, a 1st-century king of Dacia. For many years he successfully resisted Roman expansion into his territory but was finally defeated by the forces of Emperor Trajan in 106.
Declan m Irish, EnglishAnglicized form of Irish
Deaglán, Old Irish
Declán, which is of unknown meaning. Saint Declan was a 5th-century missionary to the Déisi peoples of Ireland and the founder of the monastery at Ardmore.
... [more] Dee f & m EnglishShort form of names beginning with
D. It may also be given in reference to the
Dee River in Scotland.
Deemer m English (Rare)From an English and Scottish surname meaning
"judge", from Old English
demere.
Deepak m Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, NepaliAlternate transcription of Hindi/Marathi/Nepali
दीपक, Bengali
দীপক, Gujarati
દીપક, Gurmukhi
ਦੀਪਕ, Malayalam
ദീപക്, Kannada
ದೀಪಕ್, Tamil
தீபக் or Telugu
దీపక్ (see
Dipak).
Deforest m EnglishFrom a French surname meaning
"from the forest". It was originally given in honour of American author John Deforest (1826-1906).
Deimos m Greek MythologyMeans
"terror" in Greek. This was one of the sons of the Greek god
Ares. Also, a moon of Mars bears this name.
Delaiah m BiblicalMeans
"Yahweh has drawn up" in Hebrew. This is the name of several Old Testament characters.
Delano m EnglishFrom a surname, recorded as
de la Noye in French, indicating that the bearer was from a place called La Noue (ultimately Gaulish meaning "wetland, swamp"). It has been used in honour of American president Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945), whose middle name came from his mother's maiden name.
Delbert m EnglishShort form of
Adelbert. As an American name it was first used in the New York area by people of Dutch ancestry.
Dell m & f EnglishFrom an English surname that originally denoted a person who lived in a dell or valley.
Delmar m EnglishFrom an English surname that was derived from Norman French
de la mare meaning
"from the pond".
Delshad m & f Persian (Rare)Means
"happy heart, cheerful" in Persian, from
دل (del) meaning "heart" and
شاد (shad) meaning "happy".
Delwyn m WelshFrom Welsh
del "pretty" combined with
gwyn "white, blessed". It has been used as a given name since the start of the 20th century.
Demetrius m Ancient Greek (Latinized)Latinized form of the Greek name
Δημήτριος (Demetrios), which was derived from the name of the Greek goddess
Demeter 1. Kings of Macedon and the Seleucid kingdom have had this name. This was also the name of several early saints including a Saint Demetrius who was martyred in the 4th century.
Demosthenes m Ancient GreekMeans
"vigour of the people" from Greek
δῆμος (demos) meaning "the people" and
σθένος (sthenos) meaning "vigour, strength". This was the name of both an Athenian general of the 5th century and an Athenian orator of the 4th century.
Deneb m AstronomyDerived from Arabic
ذنب (dhanab) meaning
"tail". This is the name of a star in the constellation Cygnus.
Denholm m English (Rare)From a surname that was originally taken from a place name meaning
"valley island" in Old English.
Denis m French, Russian, English, German, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Romanian, Croatian, AlbanianFrom
Denys or
Denis, the medieval French forms of
Dionysius. Saint Denis was a 3rd-century missionary to Gaul and the first bishop of Paris. He was martyred by decapitation, after which legend says he picked up his own severed head and walked for a distance while preaching a sermon. He is credited with converting the Gauls to Christianity and is considered the patron saint of France.
... [more] Denton m EnglishFrom a surname, originally from a place name, which meant
"valley town" in Old English.
Denver m EnglishFrom an English surname that was from a place name meaning
"Dane ford" in Old English. This is the name of the capital city of Colorado, which was named for the politician James W. Denver (1817-1892).
Denzel m English (Modern)Possibly a variant of
Denzil. This spelling of the name was popularized by American actor Denzel Washington (1954-), who was named after his father.
Denzil m EnglishFrom a surname that originally denoted a person from the manor of Denzell in Cornwall. This given name was borne by several members of the noble Holles family starting in the 16th century, notably the statesman Denzil Holles (1599-1680). They were named for John Denzel, an ancestor whose home was Denzell.
Derek m EnglishFrom the older English name
Dederick, which was in origin a Low German form of
Theodoric. It was imported to England from the Low Countries in the 15th century.
Derviş m TurkishFrom a Turkish word, which exists in English as
dervish, for a Sufi ascetic. It is derived from Persian, ultimately from Old Iranian *
drigu meaning "needy, poor".
Deryn f & m WelshPossibly from the Welsh word
deryn, a variant of
aderyn meaning
"bird".
Desi m & f EnglishDiminutive of
Desmond,
Desiree and other names beginning with a similar sound. In the case of musician and actor Desi Arnaz (1917-1986) it was a diminutive of
Desiderio.
Desideratus m Late RomanDerived from Latin
desideratum meaning
"desired". This was the name of a 6th-century French saint.
Desiderius m Late RomanDerived from Latin
desiderium meaning
"longing, desire". It was the name of several early saints. It was also borne in the 8th century by the last king of the Lombard Kingdom.
Desmond m English, IrishAnglicized form of Irish
Deasmhumhain meaning "south Munster", referring to the region of Desmond in southern Ireland, formerly a kingdom. It can also come from the related surname (an Anglicized form of
Ó Deasmhumhnaigh), which indicated a person who came from that region. A famous bearer is the South African archbishop and activist Desmond Tutu (1931-2021).
Deusdedit m Late RomanLatin name meaning
"God has given". This was the name of two popes (who are also known by the related name
Adeodatus).
Devante m African American (Modern)Combination of the phonetic elements
da,
von and
tay. DeVanté Swing (1969-), stage name of Donald DeGrate Jr., was a singer with the group Jodeci. His name dramatically rose in popularity in the early 1990s when the group released their first successful songs, though it soon began to recede again.
... [more] Devereux m English (Rare)From an English surname, of Norman French origin, meaning
"from Evreux". Evreux is a town in France.
Devon m & f EnglishVariant of
Devin. It may also be partly inspired by the name of the county of Devon in England, which got its name from the Dumnonii, a Celtic tribe.
Dewayne m EnglishVariant of
Duane, with the spelling altered due to the influence of
Wayne. It can be spelled
Dewayne or with a capitalized third letter as
DeWayne.
Dewi 1 m WelshPossibly from
Dewydd, an Old Welsh form of
David. Saint Dewi, the patron saint of Wales, was a 6th-century bishop of Mynyw. A later Welsh form of David was
Dafydd, which was more common in the medieval period. Dewi was revived in the 19th century.
Dexter m EnglishFrom an occupational surname meaning
"one who dyes" in Old English. It also coincides with the Latin word
dexter meaning
"right-handed, skilled".
Diadumenian m HistoryFrom the Roman cognomen
Diadumenianus, which was derived from the Greek name
Diadumenus. This was the name of a Roman Emperor who reigned briefly in the 3rd century.
Diarmaid m Irish, Irish MythologyMeaning unknown, though it has been suggested that it means
"without envy" in Irish. In Irish legend this was the name of a warrior who became the lover of
Gráinne. It was also the name of several ancient Irish kings.
Dick 1 m EnglishMedieval diminutive of
Richard. The change in the initial consonant is said to have been caused by the way the trilled Norman
R was pronounced by the English.
Diede m & f DutchShort form of names beginning with the Old High German element
diota, Old Frankish
þeoda meaning "people".
Diego m Spanish, ItalianSpanish name, possibly a shortened form of
Santiago. In medieval records
Diego was Latinized as
Didacus, and it has been suggested that it in fact derives from Greek
διδαχή (didache) meaning
"teaching". Saint Didacus (or Diego) was a 15th-century Franciscan brother based in Alcalá, Spain. Other famous bearers of this name include Mexican muralist Diego Rivera (1886-1957) and Argentine soccer player Diego Maradona (1960-2020).
Dieter m GermanMeans
"warrior of the people", derived from the Old German elements
theod meaning "people" (Old High German
diota, Old Frankish
þeoda) and
heri meaning "army". This name is also used as a short form of
Dietrich.
Diethelm m GermanDerived from the Old German elements
theod meaning "people" (Old High German
diota, Old Frankish
þeoda) and
helm meaning "helmet, protection".
Dietrich m GermanGerman form of
Theodoric. The character Dietrich von Bern, loosely based on Theodoric the Great, appears in medieval German literature such as the
Hildebrandslied, the
Nibelungenlied and the
Eckenlied.
Diệu f & m VietnameseFrom Sino-Vietnamese
妙 (diệu) meaning
"mysterious, subtle, exquisite".
Dieudonné m FrenchMeans
"given by God" in French, used as a French form of
Deusdedit. It is currently much more common in French-speaking Africa than it is in France.
Digby m English (Rare)From a surname that was derived from the name of an English town, itself derived from a combination of Old English
dic "dyke, ditch" and Old Norse
byr "farm, town".
Diggory m English (Rare)Probably an Anglicized form of
Degaré. Sir Degaré was the subject of a medieval poem set in Brittany. The name may mean "lost one" from French
égaré.
Diklah m & f Hebrew, Biblical, Biblical HebrewPossibly means
"palm grove" in Hebrew or Aramaic. In the Old Testament this is the name of a son of
Joktan. In modern times it is also used as a feminine name.
Dilbert m Popular CultureMeaning unknown. The ending is probably intended to mimic the common Germanic name element
bert meaning "bright" (Old High German
beraht). This is the title character in a comic strip by Scott Adams.
Dilipa m HinduismMeans
"protector of Delhi" from Sanskrit
दिल्ली (see
Delhi) combined with
प (pa) meaning "protecting". This is the name of several kings in Hindu texts.
Dillon m EnglishVariant of
Dylan based on the spelling of the surname
Dillon, which has an unrelated origin.
Dilwyn m WelshFrom Welsh
dilys "genuine" and
gwyn "white, blessed". It has been used since the late 19th century.
Dinesh m Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Gujarati, Bengali, Punjabi, Nepali, SinhaleseModern form of
Dinesha.
Dinesha m HinduismMeans
"day lord" from Sanskrit
दिन (dina) meaning "day" and
ईश (isha) meaning "lord". In Hindu texts this is used as a name of the sun.
Dinis m PortuguesePortuguese form of
Denis, used mainly in Portugal as opposed to Brazil (where
Dênis is more common). This name was borne by a well-regarded Portuguese king of the 13th and 14th centuries.
Diocletian m HistoryFrom the Roman cognomen
Diocletianus, a derivative of
Diokles. This was the name of a Roman emperor of the 3rd and 4th centuries (Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus). He is remembered for persecuting Christians, but he also reformed and stabilized the crumbling Empire.
Diogo m PortuguesePortuguese form of
Diego. This name was borne by the 15th-century Portuguese explorer Diogo Cão.
Diomedes m Greek MythologyDerived from Greek
Διός (Dios) meaning "of
Zeus" and
μήδεα (medea) meaning "plans, counsel, cunning". In Greek legend Diomedes was one of the greatest heroes who fought against the Trojans. With
Odysseus he entered Troy and stole the Palladium. After the Trojan War he founded the cities of Brindisi and Arpi in Italy.
Dion m Ancient Greek, EnglishShort form of
Dionysios and other Greek names beginning with the Greek element
Διός (Dios) meaning "of
Zeus". This was the name of a 4th-century BC tyrant of Syracuse. It has been used as an American given name since the middle of the 20th century.
Dionysios m Greek, Ancient GreekGreek personal name derived from the name of the Greek god
Dionysos. Famous bearers include two early tyrants of Syracuse and a 1st-century BC Greek rhetorician.
Dionysos m Greek MythologyFrom Greek
Διός (Dios) meaning "of
Zeus" combined with
Nysa, the name of the region where young Dionysos was said to have been raised. In Greek mythology Dionysos was the god of wine, revelry, fertility and dance. He was the son of
Zeus and
Semele.
Dior f & m English (Modern)From a French surname, possibly from
doré meaning
"golden". As a given name it has been inspired by the French luxury fashion house Dior, founded by the designer Christian Dior (1905-1957).
Dipak m Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, NepaliModern form of
Dipaka.
Dipaka m HinduismMeans
"inflaming, exciting" in Sanskrit. This is another name of
Kama, the Hindu god of love.
Dirk m Dutch, Low German, German, EnglishDutch and Low German short form of
Diederik. This name was borne by several counts of Frisia and Holland, beginning in the 10th century. It was popularized in the English-speaking world by actor Dirk Bogarde (1921-1999), who had some Dutch ancestry. This is also the Scots word for a type of dagger.
Diyar m & f KurdishMeans
"apparent, visible, clear" in Kurdish.
Django m Popular CultureThe name of Romani-French musician Django Reinhardt (1910-1953), whose real name was Jean. It is possibly from a Romani word meaning
"I awake", though it might in fact be derived from the name
Jean 1. This is the name of the title character in the Italian western movie
Django (1966), as well as numerous subsequent films.
Djedefre m Ancient EgyptianFrom Egyptian
ḏd-f-rꜥ meaning
"his stability is Ra", from
ḏd "stability" combined with the name of the god
Ra. This was the name of a pharaoh of the 4th dynasty of the Old Kingdom (26th century BC), a son of
Khufu. His name was also written with the hieroglyphs in reverse order, as
Radjedef.
Djoser m Ancient EgyptianFrom Egyptian
ḏsr meaning
"splendour, glory". This was the name of the founding pharaoh of the 3rd dynasty of Egypt's Old Kingdom (27th century BC).