Find out how popular the last name Davis is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Davis.
A patronymic surname meaning "son of David."
Davis, 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 Davis surname is from the 2010 census data.
Davis is the 8th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Davis surname appeared 1,116,357 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 378 people would have the surname Davis.
We can also compare 2010 data for Davis 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.
2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
---|---|---|---|
Rank | 8 | 7 | 13.33% |
Count | 1,116,357 | 1,072,335 | 4.02% |
Proportion per 100k | 378.45 | 397.51 | -4.91% |
The surname Davis is of Welsh origin, derived from the patronymic form of the personal name David, meaning "beloved" in Hebrew. It is believed to have originated in the early Middle Ages, around the 11th or 12th century, when the use of hereditary surnames became more widespread in Wales.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Davis can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Dauid." This suggests that the name was already in use in England by the time of the Norman Conquest.
The name Davis is particularly prevalent in the counties of Pembrokeshire, Cardiganshire, and Carmarthenshire in southwestern Wales, where it was likely derived from the Welsh patronymic form "ap Dafydd" or "ab Dafydd" (meaning "son of David").
In England, the name Davis is also found in areas with strong Welsh influences, such as the border counties of Herefordshire, Shropshire, and Gloucestershire.
Notable individuals with the surname Davis throughout history include:
The name Davis has also been associated with various place names, such as Davistow in Cornwall, England, and Davis Islands in Tampa, Florida, which were likely named after individuals bearing the surname.
We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Davis.
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:
For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Davis was:
Race/Ethnicity | Percentage | Total Occurrences |
---|---|---|
Non-Hispanic White Only | 62.20% | 694,374 |
Non-Hispanic Black Only | 31.60% | 352,769 |
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only | 0.49% | 5,470 |
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.82% | 9,154 |
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races | 2.45% | 27,351 |
Hispanic Origin | 2.44% | 27,239 |
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 Davis has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.
2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
---|---|---|---|
White | 62.20% | 64.73% | -3.99% |
Black | 31.60% | 30.77% | 2.66% |
Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.49% | 0.40% | 20.22% |
American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.82% | 0.79% | 3.73% |
Two or More Races | 2.45% | 1.73% | 34.45% |
Hispanic | 2.44% | 1.58% | 42.79% |
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 Davis was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.
If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Davis, please contact us.
We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.
If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!
<a href="http://namecensus.com/last-names/davis-surname-popularity/">Davis last name popularity, history, and meaning</a>
"Davis last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on October 31, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/davis-surname-popularity/.
"Davis last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/davis-surname-popularity/. Accessed 31 October, 2024
Davis last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/davis-surname-popularity/.
Search for a first or last name to learn more about its origin, meaning, and more.
Simple as that.