David surname meaning

David is a surname formed from the biblical personal name David, Hebrew Dawid. It could identify a child or descendant of a man named David, and in Jewish communities it could also preserve a biblical or devotional naming tradition. Davies, Davis, and Davids are related patronymic formations, though families bearing them need not share an ancestor. David is traditionally glossed as “beloved,” but that interpretation belongs to the personal name, not a literal description of every surname bearer. The catalog uses parent’s name with high confidence because the surname-level personal-name source is direct.