Ask for Dave

He’s the subject of a Michelangelo masterpiece and has had a television channel named after him. His appellation even appears on t-shirts. Yes, the unpretentious Dave is a name never far from the pointy end of our tongues – especially in the motor trade. According to research conducted by contracthireandleasing.com, Dave is the trade’s most popular name. So next time your car needs a new set of tyres or a tune-up, or if you take advantage of the scrappage scheme to snap up a bargain, chances are you’ll be using a four-letter word to address the person serving you.

The contract hire and leasing website researched a total of 6,842 employee names compiled from a broad spectrum of UK motoring trade companies; from main dealers, car supermarkets, motor service and aftermarket companies and independent brokers as well as fleet management companies to find the most popular names in the trade. In the end ‘Dave’ was the clear winner, with 4.6 per cent of employees bearing this name. Beaten into second place was ‘Paul’ while ‘Mark’ trailed in third place. It is often said that everyone knows a Dave and in the case of the motor industry it appears to be very much the case.

Even the managing director of contracthireandleasing.com’s parent company, Really Good Domains, is another Dave of the trade. “It is something that I long suspected was the case, there are more Daves than any other name within the motor industry,” commented Dave Timms from Really Good Domains. “Our research just goes to show that being called Dave gives you a helping hand in the motoring world!”