Davis (surname)

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This article is about the surname. For people who share this surname, see List of people with surname Davis. For other uses, see Davis (disambiguation).

Davis
Pronunciation/ˈdeɪvɪs/ DAY-vis
plural Davises
possessive Davis's, Davises'
Origin
MeaningDescendant from Dyfed
alt. Son of David
Region of originWales
Other names
Variant form(s)David, Davies, Davison
Frequency comparisons:[1]

Davis as a Welsh surname may be a corruption of Dyfed, related to Irish colonists who occupied an area of southwest Wales in the late third century and established a dynasty there which lasted five centuries. Dyfed is recorded as a surname as late as the twelfth century, e.g. Gwynfard Dyfed, born 1175. Dafydd (generally translated into English as David) appears as a given name in the thirteenth century, e.g. Dafydd ap Gruffydd (1238–1283), Prince of Wales, and Dafydd ab Edmwnd (fl. c. 1450–1497), a Welsh poet. Alternatively, Davis may be a patronymic surname (son of David).[2]

Davis is the 45th most common surname in England and 68th most common in Wales.[1] According to the 2000 United States census, it is the seventh most frequently reported surname, accounting for 0.48% of the population, preceding Garcia and following Miller.[3] It was the seventh most common surname in the United States in 2014.[1] It is also recorded in the spellings of Davies, Davison and several others.[4]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "Davis Surname Meaning and Distribution". forebears.co.uk. Retrieved 23 January 2014
  2. ^ A dictionary of Irish surnames: with special American instances; Bardsley, Charles Wareing Endell, London. H. Frowde. 1901
  3. ^ United States Census Bureau (2000). Retrieved 2008-07-04
  4. ^ "Last name:Davies". SurnameDB. Retrieved 28 April 2021.

External links[]

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