Dauda as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Dauda

What is the meaning of the name Dauda ?

The baby name Dauda is a Male name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced /ˈdaʊdə/ (DAU-dah).

Dauda is Arabic, Hausa in Origin.

Dauda is a masculine given name widespread in West Africa, especially among Hausa, Fulani, and Mandinka speakers. It is the regional adaptation of Arabic Dāwūd, itself from Hebrew Dāwīd, meaning “beloved.” The name traveled southward with Islam, scholarship, and trade across the Sahel from the medieval period, appearing in court chronicles and scholarly families and remaining popular in countries such as Nigeria, Niger, The Gambia, Senegal, Mali, Sierra Leone, and Ghana’s Zongo communities.

Spellings and cognates reflect language and colonial orthography: Daouda (common in Francophone West Africa), Dawda (notably Gambian), as well as Daud, Dawud, Dawood, and Daoud across the Arab world; Daudi in Swahili; Dawit in Ethiopia and Eritrea; Davud in Turkish and Azerbaijani; and David in European languages. A Hausa short form, Audu, also occurs. Across these forms, the core meaning “beloved” remains constant.