baby name DoveThe baby name Dove might be the next girl name borrowed from the birds.

Thanks to Photoquilty for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.

DOV IS DIFFERENT

Let’s start with Dov, hold the e. It’s a masculine name, Hebrew in origin. And Dov comes with paws, not wings. The name means bear.

BIRDS OF A FEATHER

But the baby Dove has long been used in sparing numbers for girls in the US. It tracks with Robin and Wren, Raven and Paloma. Some feel more obviously avian; others seem more subtle.

The birds are cousins to pigeons, members of the Columbidae family, along with a few hundred others. Names like Jonah and Jemima also relate to doves.

It’s thought that the word comes from the Germanic dubon – to dive, related to their pattern of flight – via the Old English dufe.

PEACE

In the story of Noah, a dove signals the end of the floods. But long before that, the birds were symbols of ancient goddesses in Mesopotamia and Greece, to name just two.

In Christianity, a dove often represents the holy spirit. They’re significant in Shintoism and Buddhism, too.

But perhaps it’s best known as a symbol of peace. The association goes back to ancient Greece. Early Christians depicted a dove holding an olive branch, using it in both baptisms and funerals at different points.

PICASSO

For centuries, doves have also been associated with peace among nations. In 1948, Pablo Picasso’s lithograph La Colombe inspired the symbol of the Word Peace Council. They adopted the dove symbol in 1949.

Picasso spoke at a future World Peace Congress, and named his daughter Paloma, from the Spanish word for dove.

LONESOME

In 1985, Larry McMurtry published Lonesome Dove, the Old West story of retired Texas rangers driving cattle to Montana. It became a bestseller and won the 1986 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. It inspired a television mini-series adaptation, too. Three more books – and mini-series – followed into the 1990s.

In the novel, Lonesome Dove is the name of the Texas border town where the story begins. McMurtry has also said that the title refers to one of the characters, a teenage orphan.

It’s not a personal name at any point in the story, but it’s a powerful association for many.

DOVE SI TROVA …

If you speak Italian, this is simply a word meaning where. But it’s pronounced doh-VAY.

It’s possible you’d find Dove as a surname, either for someone who kept the birds or maybe someone who shared their gentle nature.

But in recent years, there’s no question where at least some parents have first heard the possible baby name Dove.

DOVE CAMERON

Disney Channel star Dove Cameron headlined popular hits like Liv & Maddie and The Descendants.

Cameron was born Chloe Celeste Hosterman. She took her screen name from a childhood nickname.

If you know your Disney villains, chances are you know what comes next.

In 2015, Cameron took on the role of Mal, daughter of Maleficent in an alternate universe where all the Disney villains have been imprisoned on the Isle of the Lost. But now a handful of the “villain kids” are getting a chance to enroll at Auradon Prep, where the children of the heroic good are educated.

Mal falls in love with Ben, son of Belle and the Beast, and heir to the throne of Auradon.

Drama follows. Enough for not one, but two sequels.

We meet lots of other descendants of our favorite fairytale characters along the way. The third in the series debuted in August 2019. If your kids are the right age, you’ve inevitably heard the songs.

That makes Cameron a major celebrity in some circles.

While the actor has graduated to more adult roles – she plays Schmigadoon!’s Betsy on Apple TV+ and has launched a singing career – it’s safe to say that an entire generation now thinks of Dove as a given name.

BY the NUMBERS

27 girls received the baby name Dove in 2017, and 26 in 2018. As of 2020, that number soared to 51 births – an all-time high.

It also suggests that Dove might now appeal well beyond Disney Channel fans.

You might also think of Tamora Pierce’s character Dovesary, from Tamora Pierce’s fantasy novels.

Reality television’s Natalie Halcro of E’s Relatively Nat & Liv gave the name to a daughter in early 2020. So did Teddi Mellencamp, of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills fame.

Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom welcomed Daisy Dove in 2020, too.

While it remains rare, there are signs that the baby name Dove might just take flight.

What do you think of the baby name Dove?

Originally published on June 5, 2009, this post was revised substantially on February 22, 2020 and updated on December X, 2021.

baby name Dove

About Abby Sandel

Whether you're naming a baby, or just all about names, you've come to the right place! Appellation Mountain is a haven for lovers of obscure gems and enduring classics alike.

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What do you think?

21 Comments

  1. We were thinking of the name Bird not Birdie. I don’t think that will work, but Dove I’m in love. She will be Dove Bloom!

  2. I might be wrong but didn’t you do a write up on Dov (boys form) a few years ago, I’m pretty sure I saw it whilst I was looking through the back catalogue a few weeks ago but I just tried to find it on the boys master list a few minutes ago and it isn’t there. If you have done a wu on Dov would you be able to give me the month and year it was published? So I can find it in the bc myself

  3. I like it as a middle name. I had a great-great aunt who was an awesome lady, and her Yiddish name was Toiba, which means dove. She used Tillie in English. I’ve thought about combos like Theodora Dove for her. WDYT?

    I also like Yonina, which is a Hebrew name that’s the feminine form of the male name that’s usually translated to Jonah. I don’t like Yemima/Jemima nearly as much as Yonina but I’m not sure why, except my long-term fondness for Nina.

    1. Theodora Dove is gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. And I love Nina. I’m less sold on Yonina, but I think it would grow on me – I hadn’t heard it until this very moment!

    1. SF, thanks – I completely missed that! I think it could definitely give the name a boost, and yes – Dove Olivia is a stunning combination.

  4. Is there supposed to be more to this post? I would really love to read it if so. Considering Dove as a first name… if I can get my husband on board.