David

Give someone called David a book with their name on the cover and plenty to enjoy inside. David: The Owner's Manual combines researched name history with affectionate adult humour, making a personal-feeling present that rewards more than a glance at the title.

Explore the name's Hebrew roots, including the alternative glosses 'beloved' or 'uncle', and discover how the probability and game theory of mathematician David Blackwell provide a starting point for comedy about choosing, comparing and occasionally getting on with things. Historical bearers, literature, art and calendar traditions broaden the picture beyond a simple name meaning.

Alongside the research come friendships, love, work, money, possessions, luck, habits and comic forecasts, with dry British observations about useful questions, unnecessary qualifications and the pleasure of admitting what you actually want. Read it through or open it at random; six closing tests offer room to answer back, without a personality score to defend.

The personality readings and forecasts are completely unscientific fictional entertainment, not science or fortune-telling; a name proves nothing about its reader.

For a birthday, Christmas, name day or an affectionate surprise, give David some history, a laugh and permission to disagree.