NameCensus.
Uncommon

James Davis

There are approximately 11,892 people named James Davis living in the United States today. That makes this name combination uncommon, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 28,822 Americans.

This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name James with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Davis. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and ancestry information.

Expected bearers

11,892

1 in 28,822

Named James

3.1M

Alive today

Named Davis

1.3M

Alive today

US population

343M

Denominator

The first name James

Estimated living: 3.1M

Rarity: Very Common

Gender: Male

Peak year: 1947

Average age: 57

The surname Davis

Estimated bearers: 1.3M

Rarity: Very Common

Census rank: #8

Per 100K: 378.45

Top ancestry: White (62.2%)

First name trend

James: popularity over time

Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name James. The peak year was 1947 with 95,020 births. The average person named James today is 57 years old.

Babies born per year

MaleFemale
024K48K71K95K18801900192019401960198020002020

Ethnicity

Ancestry of the Davis surname

Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Davis, from the 2010 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 62.2%.

  • White62.2%
  • Black or African American31.6%
  • Two or more races2.5%
  • Hispanic or Latino2.4%
  • American Indian and Alaska Native0.8%
  • Asian and Pacific Islander0.5%

Methodology

How we calculated this

The first name James has a living-bearer frequency of 0.9168% of the US population, based on 3,142,267 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).

The surname Davis appears at a rate of 378.45 per 100,000 residents in the 2010 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.3784%.

Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 11,892 people with the full name James Davis. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.

Read the full methodology.

Related

Other people named James

Related

Other people with the surname Davis

FAQ

James Davis: questions and answers

How many people are named James Davis?

We estimate approximately 11,892 people in the United States share the full name James Davis. That works out to about 1 in 28,822 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.9168%) with the surname frequency (378.45 per 100K) against the current US population.

How rare is the name James Davis?

We classify James Davis as "Uncommon". About 1 in 28,822 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.

Is James a male or female name?

James is predominantly male. Out of 5,262,396 total SSA registrations, 99.5% were male and 0.5% were female. See the full James profile for detailed gender data.

Where does this data come from?

First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2010 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.

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James Davis

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