Davis (surname)

This article is about the surname. For people who share this surname, see List of people with surname Davis. For other uses, see Davis (disambiguation).

Davis is a surname of Welsh origin. It may be a corruption of Dyfed. Dyfed is recorded as a surname as late as the twelfth century, e.g. Gwynfard Dyfed, born 1175. Dafydd (generally translated into English as David) appears as a given name in the thirteenth century, e.g. Dafydd ap Gruffydd (1238–1283), Prince of Wales, and Dafydd ab Edmwnd (fl. c. 1450–1497), a Welsh poet. Alternatively, Davis may be a patronymic surname (son of David).^[1]

Davis

Pronunciation	/ˈdeɪvɪs/ DAY-vis plural Davises possessive Davis's, Davises'
Origin
Meaning	Descendant from Dyfed alt. Son of David
Region of origin	Wales
Other names
Variant form(s)	David, Davies, Davison

According to the 2000 United States census, it is the seventh most frequently reported surname, accounting for 0.48% of the population, preceding Garcia and following Miller.^[2]