When is David’s name day?

David can be celebrated on 3 feasts in the Orthodox calendar. People keep the feast of the saint they were named for, or the one their family has always kept.

Every feast on which David is celebrated

The saints behind the name

• 

  David of Thessaloniki

  June 26, Venerable, Δαβίδ

  St. David of Thessaloniki was an ascetic of the sixth century who lived in that city as a stranger to the world. Tradition tells that he made his dwelling in the branches of an almond tree, enduring heat and cold for years in prayer, until God revealed that his petition was heard; thereafter he lived in a cell, where the faithful sought his prayers and counsel, and he was granted the grace of wonderworking.

  Name days: David, Davit

• David of Euboea

  November 1, Venerable, Δαβίδ ο εν Ευβοία

  Venerable David the Elder was a monk of the sixteenth century who, after years of ascetic struggle and travels in Greece and beyond, settled in the mountains of northern Euboea and founded the monastery of the Transfiguration, known today as the monastery of Saint David.

  Name days: David, Davidis, Dave, Davit

• King David, Joseph, James

  December 26, Saint, Δαβίδ, Ιωσήφ, Ιάκωβος

  On the Sunday after the Nativity the Church keeps the synaxis of three holy kinsmen of the Lord according to the flesh: David the Prophet and King, from whose line the Messiah was born; Joseph the Betrothed, the righteous elder who guarded the Virgin and the Christ Child and led them to safety in Egypt; and James the Brother of the Lord, first Bishop of Jerusalem.

  Name days: David, Davit, Joseph, Iosif, Iossif, Josef

Also celebrating with David

These names share the feast, many of them other forms of the same name:

Davit, Davidis, Dave, Joseph, Iosif, Iossif, Josef

What to say on a name day

The Greek wish is Χρόνια Πολλά (Chronia Polla), “many years.” A call or a short message on the day is what people remember. See name day wishes you can send and what a name day is.