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

Davison, 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 Davison surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Davison in America

Davison is the 1617th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Davison surname appeared 22,276 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 8 people would have the surname Davison.

We can also compare 2010 data for Davison 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 Davison

The surname Davison originated in Scotland and Northern England in the 13th century. It stems from the name David, which itself comes from the Hebrew name "David" meaning "beloved". The suffix "-son" denotes "son of", thus the name initially referred to the son of someone named David.

Davison is an anglicized form of the Gaelic patronymic "MacDhàibhidh" and the Scottish surname Davidson is an alternative spelling. Early records show the name was prevalent in Aberdeenshire, the Scottish Borders, and Northumberland by the 1300s.

One of the earliest recorded instances is William Dawysoun who appears in the Assize Court Rolls of Northumberland in 1279. The Davison spelling crops up in the 1379 Poll Tax records for Yorkshire. Over time variants like Davysone, Davisoune, and Davidsone were used before standardizing.

Notable Davisons from history include the politician Sir Henry Davison (c.1640-1686) who served as Paymaster General under King Charles II. Alexander Davison (1750-1829) was a prominent merchant and ship owner involved in the Battle of Trafalgar. Explorer Henry Davison Jr. (1771-1810) surveyed areas of Canada's Northwest Territories.

Explorer and author Archibald Davison (1841-1900) chronicled his adventures in the Arctic regions. Ralph Davison (1889-1976) was a US Navy officer who commanded several ships during World War II, receiving the Navy Cross. Lieutenant General Sir Andrew Davison (1921-1996) was a senior British Army officer.

Davison remains a common surname today, particularly in Scotland and Northern England where it has its deepest ancestral roots dating back over 700 years to the Middle Ages.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Davison

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

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

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

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