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

Davy, 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 Davy surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Davy in America

Davy is the 9770th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Davy surname appeared 3,316 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Davy.

We can also compare 2010 data for Davy 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 Davy

The surname Davy has its origins in the medieval French given name David, which is derived from the Hebrew name David, meaning 'beloved'. The name is first found in English records in the late 12th century after the Norman Conquest of 1066.

The earliest recorded spelling of the surname is found in the Pipe Rolls of Norfolk in 1166, where it appears as Davy. It was initially a patronymic surname, meaning 'son of David'. The name was widespread across England, particularly in the southern and eastern counties, by the 13th century.

In the Hundred Rolls of 1273, there are several references to individuals with the surname Davy, including William Davy of Oxfordshire and Robert Davy of Berkshire. The Davy surname is also found in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1296, indicating its presence in that region.

The Domesday Book of 1086 does not contain the surname Davy, as it predates the use of hereditary surnames in England. However, it does record individuals with the given name David, which later gave rise to the surname.

One of the earliest known bearers of the surname was Sir John Davy (c. 1285-1345), a English judge and landowner from Bodmin, Cornwall. He served as a justice of the Court of Common Pleas and acquired substantial estates in Devon and Cornwall.

Other notable individuals with the surname Davy include:

1. Sir Humphry Davy (1778-1829), a Cornish chemist and inventor, best known for his contributions to the safety lamp for miners.
2. John Davy (1790-1868), a younger brother of Humphry Davy, also a chemist and amateur philosopher.
3. Marie-Madeleine Davy (1631-1698), a French Roman Catholic nun and founder of the Daughters of the Cross.
4. Richard Davy (1588-1643), an English clergyman and Master of Caius College, Cambridge.
5. John Davy (1633-1685), an English composer and organist at the Chapel Royal.

The surname Davy has also been associated with various place names, such as Davy Hulme in Greater Manchester, which is derived from the Old English personal name Dafa and 'holmr' meaning 'water-meadow'.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Davy

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

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

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

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