David

David reaches back to Hebrew, where it meant beloved. The word behind it points to someone held dear, and Polish keeps that reading in umiłowany and ukochany. In Poland the name usually appears as Dawid, its native variant, spelled with a w where English writes a v.

The first famous bearer was King David, the shepherd who became ruler of Israel and, by tradition, composed many of the Psalms. His story carried the name across languages and centuries, so that a Hebrew word for beloved could turn up on a class register in Kraków. Dawid celebrates imieniny most widely on 29 December, with 26 June as another old date.

A short name, easy to say. It has stayed common in Poland, and in 2026 Dawid still ranked among the twenty-five most popular boys' names. Whatever draws people to it, the meaning underneath holds fixed: beloved, umiłowany, ukochany.