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

Davila, 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 Davila surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Davila in America

Davila is the 774th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Davila surname appeared 44,388 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 15 people would have the surname Davila.

We can also compare 2010 data for Davila 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 Davila

The surname Davila is of Spanish origin, originating from the medieval kingdom of Castile in central Spain. It is believed to have derived from the Spanish place name "Ávila," referring to the city and province of the same name. The name Ávila itself is thought to come from the Latin word "abula," meaning "flat land."

Ávila was an important city during the Reconquista, the period when Christian kingdoms in the Iberian Peninsula fought to reclaim territories from the Moors. The Davila surname may have originated as a locational name, indicating someone who came from or lived in the city or region of Ávila.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Davila surname can be found in the Cartulario de Arlanza, a medieval cartulary (a collection of charters and deeds) dating back to the 11th century. This document mentions a nobleman named Rodrigo Dávila, who held lands in the region of Ávila.

During the 15th and 16th centuries, several members of the Davila family gained prominence in Spain. One notable figure was Pedrarias Dávila (1440-1531), a Spanish conquistador and the first governor of Castilla de Oro (present-day Panama). He played a significant role in the Spanish colonization of the Americas.

Another prominent individual was Gil González Dávila (1480-1558), a Spanish historian and author of the "Teatro Eclesiástico de las Iglesias Metropolitanas y Catedrales de los Reynos de las dos Castillas," a chronicle of the churches and cathedrals in Castile.

In the 17th century, Pedro Dávila y Cárdenas (1590-1666) was a Spanish nobleman and military officer who served as the Governor of the Duchy of Milan and the Viceroy of Valencia.

During the Golden Age of Spanish literature, the poet and dramatist Guillén de Castro (1569-1631), whose full name was Guillén de Castro y Bellvis, adopted the literary name "Dávila" in some of his works, though it was not his actual surname.

Over the centuries, the Davila surname has spread beyond Spain and can be found in various regions of Latin America, particularly in countries with significant Spanish colonial influence, such as Mexico, Colombia, and Venezuela.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Davila

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

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 Davila 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 Davila 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 Davila was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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