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Davis Family History

Davis Surname Meaning

English and Welsh: patronymic meaning ‘Dafydd's (son)’ equivalent to Welsh ap Dafydd the Welsh form of David. The spelling Davis is more typical in southwestern England northwards as far as Lancashire where the frequency of the surname largely reflects Welsh migration but may sometimes represent a native English surname based on Davy (compare Davies).

Davis (including in the sense 2 below) is the eighth most frequent surname in the US. It is also very common among African Americans. Irish and Scottish: adopted for Gaelic Mac Daibhéid ‘son of David’; see McDevitt.

Compare Davies. In some cases also an Americanized form (actually an adoption of the name in 1 above) of Jewish Davidovich and of its cognate Davidsohn.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


Similar surnames: 

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Where is the Davis family from?

You can see how Davis families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Davis family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Davis families were found in USA in 1880. In 1840 there were 1,797 Davis families living in New York. This was about 13% of all the recorded Davis's in USA. New York had the highest population of Davis families in 1840.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Davis surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
  • 1840
  • 1880
  • 1920
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What did your Davis ancestors do for a living?

In 1940, Laborer and Maid were the top reported jobs for men and women in the USA named Davis. 17% of Davis men worked as a Laborer and 8% of Davis women worked as a Maid. Some less common occupations for Americans named Davis were Truck Driver and Housewife.

View Census Data for Davis | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1940

  • Laborer
    17%
  • Farmer
    15%
  • Salesman
    4%
  • Truck Driver
    3%

Top Female Occupations In 1940

  • Maid
    8%
  • Housekeeper
    6%
  • Cook
    6%
  • Housewife
    5%

What Davis family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 5 million census records available for the last name Davis. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Davis census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search US census records for Davis

Passenger Lists

There are 418,000 immigration records available for the last name Davis. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the USA, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

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Draft Cards

There are 1 million military records available for the last name Davis. For the veterans among your Davis ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

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