Find out how popular the last name Davenport is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Davenport.

Davenport, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Davenport surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Davenport in America

Davenport is the 608th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Davenport surname appeared 55,895 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 19 people would have the surname Davenport.

We can also compare 2010 data for Davenport to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Davenport

The surname Davenport originates from England and dates back to the 12th century. It is a locational name derived from the town of Davenport in Cheshire, which means "port for the hill called Davenport". The name is composed of the Old English words "dæfan" meaning "demon" or "fairy", and "port" meaning "town".

One of the earliest records of the name is found in the Pipe Rolls of Staffordshire in 1199, where it is spelled "Davenport". The Davenport family was prominent in Cheshire and held lands there from the 12th century onwards. The name is also found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Devenport".

In the 13th century, several members of the Davenport family were recorded in various documents, including John Davenport, who was mentioned in the Assize Rolls of Staffordshire in 1272. Another notable figure from this period was Sir John Davenport, who was knighted in 1337 for his service during the Hundred Years' War.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Davenports were a prominent family in Cheshire and Staffordshire. One of the most famous Davenports was John Davenport (1597-1670), a Puritan minister who founded the colony of New Haven in Connecticut, USA.

Other notable Davenports include Sir Samuel Davenport (1718-1786), a British admiral who served in the Royal Navy during the American Revolutionary War, and Sir Humphry Davenport (1566-1645), an English judge and Chief Baron of the Exchequer.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Davenport name spread across England and beyond as people migrated to other parts of the British Empire and the United States. Some well-known Davenports from this period include Edward Davenport (1777-1847), an English actor and playwright, and Harry Davenport (1866-1949), an American actor who appeared in over 200 films.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Davenport

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Davenport.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Davenport was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Davenport has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Davenport was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Davenport, please contact us.

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