Dave

maleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Dave: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Dave: Recorded since 1982, it reached #303 in 1987, and it stood at #582 in 2024.

2registrars recorded it
40times a registrar ranked it
43years from first to last
#303highest recorded position
12groupings it qualifies for

Region

Falling

among boys in England and Wales · 1997–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Boys rank by year
Year	Rank
1997	#1345
1998	#2074
1999	#1383
2000	#2501
2001	#1746
2002	#2005
2003	#1188
2004	#1410
2005	#1299
2006	#2282
2007	#1578
2008	#1596
2009	#3744
2010	#1911
2011	#2194
2012	#3039
2013	#3822
2014	#3362
2015	#3373
2016	#2804
2017	#3449
2018	#4749
2019	#1869
2020	#1935
2021	#2125
2022	#2018
2023	#3523
2024	#1951

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

FallingEngland and Wales · Boys

Recorded in official data among boys in Republic of Ireland in 12 of the 43 years from 1982 to 2024.

In 2024: #582 among boys in Republic of Ireland, #1951 among boys in England and Wales.

Official data from 2 national registrars across 2 regions, 1982–2024 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1982
First recorded at #330 among boys in Republic of Ireland in 1982 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Highest recorded1982–2024
Highest recorded position: #303 among boys in Republic of Ireland, in 1987 (recorded 1982–2024).
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #1951 among boys in England and Wales, in 2024.
England and Wales · Boys

Dave appears in 2 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is England and Wales · Boys, with 28 ranked years and 234 births registered; the earliest is Republic of Ireland · Boys, from 1982.

Dave across 2 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Dave's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
Republic of Ireland · Boys	#330 (1982)	#303 (1987)	#582 (2024)	12 of 43	43 (1982–2024)	5 (2005)
England and Wales · Boys	#1345 (1997)	#1188 (2003)	#1951 (2024)	28 of 28	234 (1997–2024)	15 (2005)

Dave by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Dave in England and Wales · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1990s	23	3 of 10	8
2000sbusiest	95	10 of 10	10
2010s	67	10 of 10	7
2020s	49	5 of 10	10

Across England and Wales · Boys, the 2000s were its busiest decade, averaging 10 births a year.

See the names England and Waleshas recorded the most births with →

Dave appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1982 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #303 in Republic of Ireland in 1987.

Dave's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2024	England and Wales	male	#1951	12	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	male	#3523	5	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	male	#2018	11	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	male	#2125	10	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	male	#1935	11	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	male	#1869	12	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	male	#4749	3	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	male	#3449	5	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	male	#2804	7	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	male	#3373	5	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	male	#3362	5	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	male	#3822	4	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	male	#3039	6	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	male	#2194	9	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	male	#1911	11	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	male	#3744	4	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	male	#1596	13	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	male	#1578	13	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	male	#2282	7	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	male	#1299	15	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	male	#1410	12	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	male	#1188	14	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	male	#2005	6	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	male	#1746	7	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	male	#2501	4	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	male	#1383	9	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	male	#2074	5	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	male	#1345	9	High	Verified
2024	Republic of Ireland	male	#582	5	High	Verified
2021	Republic of Ireland	male	#755	3	High	Verified
2018	Republic of Ireland	male	#749	3	High	Verified
2011	Republic of Ireland	male	#623	4	High	Verified
2010	Republic of Ireland	male	#611	4	High	Verified
2008	Republic of Ireland	male	#698	3	High	Verified
2005	Republic of Ireland	male	#403	5	High	Verified
2003	Republic of Ireland	male	#423	4	High	Verified
2002	Republic of Ireland	male	#451	3	High	Verified
1994	Republic of Ireland	male	#342	3	High	Verified
1987	Republic of Ireland	male	#303	3	High	Verified
1982	Republic of Ireland	male	#330	3	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 2 registrars between 1982 and 2024, ranked in 31 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #303, first reached in 1987.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 15 births, registered in England and Wales in 2005.

Its record falls into 4 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 6 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1997, and 15 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Dastan · #1788, 15y
Daud · #1077, 29y
Davey · #362, 30y
Davi · #317, 20y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 2 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Aldo · #304, 26y
Kiefer · #302, 26y
Morris · #304, 31y
Al · #305, 28y

Also first recorded in the 1980s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1980 and 1989.

Daryll · #303, 9y
Orry · #303, 11y
Clarissa · #301, 32y
Malena · #305, 33y

Dave was ranked #303 in Republic of Ireland · Boys in 1987. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Dave and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Dave without appearing here.

Dave moved ahead of

Graham Compare
In 2023 they stood at #3523 and #1533 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2024 that had become #1951 and #5119.
Brent Compare
In 2019 they stood at #4749 and #3412 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2020 that had become #1935 and #4608.
Brett Compare
In 2023 they stood at #3523 and #3523 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2024 that had become #1951 and #4270.
Erin Compare
In 2023 they stood at #3523 and #3523 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2024 that had become #1951 and #4270.

Moved ahead of Dave

Lars Compare
In 2008 they stood at #1596 and #2276 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2009 that had become #3744 and #1425.
Isak Compare
In 2022 they stood at #2018 and #3449 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2023 that had become #3523 and #1461.
Aksel Compare
In 2012 they stood at #3039 and #3416 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2013 that had become #3822 and #2403.
Theodor Compare
In 2008 they stood at #1596 and #1828 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2009 that had become #3744 and #2544.

Moved the opposite way to Dave

Adam Compare
Between 1982 and 2024 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Dave went from #330 to #582 while Adam went from #80 to #25.
Alex Compare
Between 1982 and 2024 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Dave went from #330 to #582 while Alex went from #248 to #36.
Alexander Compare
Between 1982 and 2024 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Dave went from #330 to #582 while Alexander went from #131 to #44.
Ben Compare
Between 1982 and 2024 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Dave went from #330 to #582 while Ben went from #268 to #41.

Moved the same way as Dave

Adrian Compare
Between 1982 and 2024 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Dave went from #330 to #582 and Adrian from #53 to #200.
Denis Compare
Between 1982 and 2024 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Dave went from #330 to #582 and Denis from #55 to #195.
Derek Compare
Between 1982 and 2024 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Dave went from #330 to #582 and Derek from #35 to #472.
Edward Compare
Between 1982 and 2024 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Dave went from #330 to #582 and Edward from #44 to #144.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1982 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #303 in Republic of Ireland in 1987. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Dave

Dave at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Dave across 2 official records

Dave by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Dave appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1980s

Names published alongside Dave

Dave and the names beside it

Dave moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Dave

Moved the opposite way to Dave

Moved the same way as Dave

Dave at a glance

Dave across 2 official records

Dave by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Dave appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1980s

Names published alongside Dave

Dave and the names beside it

Dave moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Dave

Moved the opposite way to Dave

Moved the same way as Dave