Daven
A Hebrew name meaning "morning prayer" or "liturgical recitation".
Name Census estimates that about 2,542 living Americans carry the first name Daven. It is a predominantly male name (96.5% of registrations). The average person named Daven today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Daven births was 2007 (109 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Daven. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Daven with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Daven is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 92 girls registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
2.5K
~ 1 in 134,836 Americans
Peak year
2007
109 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,580
Tracked since 1955
Census
Daven in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,271 people with the first name Daven, which placed it at #6,898 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#6,898
National first-name rank
People counted
2.3K
2,271 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
43.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Daven
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Daven is White at 43.7%. The next largest groups are Black (20.3%) and Hispanic (13.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Daven described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Daven at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White43.7% · 992
- Black or African American20.3% · 460
- Hispanic or Latino13.8% · 314
- Asian and Pacific Islander12.4% · 281
- Two or more races7.9% · 180
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 44
Gender
Gender distribution for Daven
Daven leans heavily male at 96.5% of total registrations, but 92 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Daven as a male name
- Ranked #4,580 in 2024
- 22 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2007 (104 births)
Daven as a female name
- Ranked #18,323 in 2007
- 5 female births in 2007
- Peak: 1978 (12 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Daven leans strongly male. 2,117 people counted with this name were male (93.5%), compared with 148 female bearers (6.5%).
Popularity
Daven: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Daven from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 867 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Daven 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 Daven during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Davens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 17 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Daven, while Washington, Utah, Oklahoma recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 34 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Daven
The name Daven is derived from the Hebrew verb "davven," which means "to pray" or "to commune with God." It has its roots in ancient Jewish culture and religious traditions, particularly within the realm of spiritual practices and worship.
In the context of Jewish liturgy, the term "davvening" refers to the act of reciting prayers and engaging in contemplative worship. The name Daven is believed to have originated as a way to honor or commemorate individuals who were deeply devoted to their faith and spiritual pursuits.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Daven can be found in the Talmud, a central text of Rabbinic Judaism. The Talmud mentions a sage named Daven ben Kimchit, who lived during the late 2nd century CE and was known for his wisdom and piety.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Daven. One such individual was Daven of Navarre (c. 1030-1097), a prominent Jewish scholar and philosopher from the Iberian Peninsula. He was renowned for his writings on ethics, which influenced many subsequent Jewish thinkers.
Another significant bearer of the name was Daven ben Isaac (c. 1250-1310), a celebrated rabbi and Talmudic scholar from Provence, France. His contributions to the study and interpretation of Jewish law and traditions were highly influential during the medieval period.
In the 16th century, Daven Abravanel (1490-1550) was a prominent Jewish financier and statesman who served as a diplomat and advisor to several European monarchs, including King Ferdinand II of Aragon and King John III of Portugal.
More recently, Daven Mikhail (1902-1995) was a renowned Egyptian writer and journalist who played a significant role in the literary and cultural renaissance of the early 20th century in Egypt. His works often explored themes of identity, modernity, and the Arab world's relationship with its rich cultural heritage.
Despite its ancient origins and historical significance, the name Daven remains relatively uncommon in modern times, perhaps due to its strong religious connotations. However, it serves as a testament to the enduring influence of Jewish culture and spirituality on naming traditions throughout the ages.
People
Daven + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Daven 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
Daven: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Daven?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,542 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Daven 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 134,836 US residents.
Is Daven a common name?
We classify Daven as "Rare". It ranks above 94.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,607 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Daven most popular?
The single biggest year for Daven was 2007, when 109 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Daven is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Daven in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,271 people with the name Daven, or 0.75 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,898 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Daven in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Daven?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Daven leans strongly male. 2,117 people counted with this name were male (93.5%), compared with 148 female bearers (6.5%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Daven?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Daven is White at 43.7%. The next largest groups are Black (20.3%) and Hispanic (13.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Daven most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Daven in the 2020 Census, accounting for 43.7% (992 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Daven in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Daven a male name?
Yes, 96.5% of people registered as Daven 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 Daven still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Daven 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 Daven 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.
How many people are named Daven?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.