Dovud
A masculine given name of Persian origin meaning "beloved".
Name Census estimates that about 12 living Americans carry the first name Dovud. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Dovud today is around 7 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dovud births was 2017 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dovud. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Dovud. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
12
~ 1 in 28,562,862 Americans
Peak year
2017
6 babies that year
Average age
7
years old
2021 SSA rank
#11,124
Tracked since 2017
Popularity
Dovud: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dovud from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 6 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dovud by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Dovud during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dovud
The name Dovud is derived from the Hebrew name David, which means "beloved" or "friend." It has its origins in ancient Israel, dating back to the biblical times of the Old Testament.
The name is closely associated with King David, one of the most prominent figures in the Bible and in Jewish history. He was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel and Judah, ruling from around 1010 BCE to 970 BCE. The biblical books of Samuel and Chronicles provide detailed accounts of his life and reign.
In the Quran, the Islamic holy book, Dovud (Arabic spelling) is also mentioned as a prophet and king. Muslims regard him as a highly respected figure, and his story is recounted in various chapters, particularly in the Surah An-Naml (The Ant) and Surah Sad.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Book of Samuel, which chronicles the life and deeds of King David. Several psalms in the Book of Psalms are also attributed to him, reflecting his status as a skilled musician and poet.
Throughout history, the name Dovud has been borne by numerous notable individuals. One of the most famous was Dovud Al-Zahiri (1051-1126), an Islamic scholar and jurist from Baghdad who founded the Zahiri school of Islamic jurisprudence.
Another well-known figure was Dovud Al-Antaki (1599-1671), a renowned Syrian traveler and writer who documented his extensive travels across the Middle East, Europe, and Asia in his book "Tuhfat al-Albab" (The Chronicle of a Traveler).
In more recent times, Dovud Khan (1665-1717) was a prominent military leader and governor of the Persian Safavid Empire, known for his successful campaigns against the Ottomans and his efforts to modernize the Persian army.
Dovud Pasha (1816-1851) was an influential Ottoman statesman and reformer who served as the Grand Vizier (prime minister) of the Ottoman Empire during the reign of Sultan Abdulmejid I.
Lastly, Dovud Aminov (1888-1954) was a prominent Uzbek writer, poet, and playwright who made significant contributions to the development of modern Uzbek literature and drama.
People
Dovud + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dovud as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Dovud: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dovud?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 12 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dovud going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 28,562,862 US residents.
Is Dovud a common name?
We classify Dovud as "Very Rare". It ranks above 32.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 12 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dovud most popular?
The single biggest year for Dovud was 2017, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dovud is about 7 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Dovud in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dovud a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dovud in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Dovud still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dovud in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Dovud can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Dovud?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.