2000
#7
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,072,335
First available Census row
Per 100,000 397.51
Very Common Last name
Davis
A patronymic surname meaning "son of David."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,232,097 Americans carry the last name Davis. That puts it at #9 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 359.47 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 278 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Davis surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Davis with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.2M
1 in 278
Census rank
#9
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
359.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.1M
very common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,074,448 bearers of the surname Davis in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 359.47 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Davis, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.6%. The next largest groups are Black (30.8%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Davis
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:
1. Henry Davis (c. 1550-1609), an English poet and author of the works "Hymns to Astraea" and "Nosce Teipsum."
2. John Davis (c. 1550-1605), an English navigator and explorer who conducted three voyages in search of the Northwest Passage.
3. Thomas Davis (1814-1845), an Irish revolutionary and political writer who co-founded the Young Ireland movement.
4. Rebecca Davis (1616-1688), one of the first women to be accused of witchcraft in the Salem Witch Trials of 1692.
5. Sammy Davis Jr. (1925-1990), an American entertainer, singer, dancer, and actor who was part of the Rat Pack with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.
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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Davis
Among Census respondents with the surname Davis, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.6%. The next largest groups are Black (30.8%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Davis bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Davis surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White59.6% · 640,545
- Black or African American30.8% · 330,935
- Two or more races4.7% · 50,882
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 36,995
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 8,343
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 6,748
Timeline
Historical Census data for Davis
Davis appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#8
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,116,357
+44,022 bearers (+4.1%)
Per 100,000 378.45
Rank movement Down 1 places
2020
#9
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,074,448
-41,909 bearers (-3.8%)
Per 100,000 359.47
Rank movement Down 1 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7 | 1,072,335 | 397.51 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8 | 1,116,357 | 378.45 | +44,022 bearers (+4.1%) | Down 1 places |
| 2020 | #9 | 1,074,448 | 359.47 | -41,909 bearers (-3.8%) | Down 1 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Davis surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #8 | #9 | -12.5% |
| Count | 1,116,357 | 1,074,448 | -3.8% |
| Per 100K | 378.45 | 359.47 | -5.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Davis bearers went from 1,116,357 to 1,074,448 (-3.8% change). The surname moved down 1 positions in the national ranking, going from #8 to #9.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Davis
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Andre Davis
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Andrew Davis
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Ann Davis
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Artur Davis
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Baron Davis
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Bette Davis
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Brad Davis
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Danny Davis
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David Davis
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Desmond Davis
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Domanick Davis
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Donald Davis
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Geena Davis
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Geoff Davis
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Hope Davis
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Jefferson Davis
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John Davis
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Judy Davis
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Julie Davis
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Kristin Davis
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Lincoln Davis
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Mitch Davis
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Ossie Davis
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Paige Davis
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Ricky Davis
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Sammy Davis
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Stephen Davis
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Susan Davis
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Tamra Davis
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Tom Davis
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Vernon Davis
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Virginia Davis
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Warwick Davis
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Willie Davis
FAQ
Davis surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Davis?
Name Census estimates that about 1,232,097 living Americans carry the surname Davis. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 278 residents.
How common is Davis?
Davis ranks #9 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 359.47 per 100,000 residents, which is about 359 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,074,448 people with the surname Davis. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,232,097), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 359.47 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 359.47 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 359 of them to have the surname Davis.
Has Davis become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Davis went from 1,116,357 recorded bearers to 1,074,448. That is a decrease of 41,909 (-3.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #8 to #9.
What does the Census say about the background of Davis?
Among Census respondents with the surname Davis, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.6%. The next largest groups are Black (30.8%) and Two or More Races (4.7%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Davis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.6% (640,545 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Davis appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (59.6%), Black (30.8%), Two or More Races (4.7%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Davis (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Davis mean?
A patronymic surname meaning "son of David." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Davis (359.47 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Davis?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the surname Davis on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.