BrazilianPortuguese layerHebrew source
Meaning: beloved — the shepherd king, spelled the Brazilian way.
Davi
| Origin | Brazilian Portuguese — the national spelling of David, from Hebrew |
|---|---|
| Meaning | Hebrew dāwîd, "beloved"; one of the few royal Hebrew names whose sense is not disputed |
| Pronunciation | dah-VEE, stress on the second syllable, no final consonant |
| Popularity | Outside the current U.S. top 100 in this spelling; in Brazil it has been one of the most-registered boy names for years |
| Variants | David (English, Portugal, Spanish), Davide (Italian), Dawid (Polish), Davit (Armenian, Georgian) |
| Nicknames | Davizinho and Davizito as affectionate forms; the name is already too short to shorten |
| Name day | 29 December, the feast of David the King in the Western calendar |
History & meaning
Brazil and Portugal spell this name differently, and Brazil is the one that changed. Portugal writes David. Brazilian registries, and the Brazilian editions of the Almeida Bible that most Brazilians grew up hearing read aloud, write Davi — dropping a final d that Portuguese never wanted to pronounce anyway. Underneath the spelling the name is unchanged and very old: Hebrew dāwîd, beloved, borne by the shepherd who killed Goliath, took Jerusalem, ruled Israel for forty years, and is traditionally credited with the psalms.
Davi belongs to the Portuguese-derived layer of Brazilian naming — specifically to its biblical stratum, the stock that arrived with priests and catechism and never left, next to Samuel, Miguel and Gabriel. It is worth saying what that layer is not: Brazil also names children from Tupi, and Kauê and Guaraci come from somewhere else entirely. Spelled Davi the name is outside the current U.S. top 100; spelled David it is a permanent American fixture.
Why parents choose it
Three thousand years of use and still only two syllables. Davi is instantly legible to any Brazilian, needs no explanation to a grandmother, and yet reads as modern because the trimmed spelling is recent. It also survives translation: a Davi in London becomes a David without losing anything but a vowel.
Middle names for Davi
A short, second-stress name wants a middle with a different rhythm: Davi Lucca, Davi Antônio, Davi Emanuel, Davi Henrique. Two names ending in -i in a row will blur. There is more on balance in the middle names guide.
Famous Davis
Davi Kopenawa Yanomami is the best-known bearer outside Brazil: a Yanomami shaman and spokesman, and the voice behind The Falling Sky, written with the anthropologist Bruce Albert. Davi Brito, a rideshare driver from Bahia, won Big Brother Brasil in 2024 and spent a year as one of the most recognised faces in the country. The name also reaches back through David to a king, a psalmist and a Michelangelo.
Consider instead
David is the same name with the international spelling and a much longer American record. Samuel keeps the Hebrew register and adds a syllable. Bento gives you the same short, warm, unmistakably Lusophone shape without the biblical weight.