Head to head · Boys' names
Davis vs Major
#668 vs #669 in 2025 · both stepping back from its peak
Davis is a whisker ahead (#668 vs #669 in 2025) and both are stepping back from its peak. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Davis leads 3 measures of 6; Major leads 1.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Davis #483, Major #274 — Major higher
- 1890s: Davis #511, Major #287 — Major higher
- 1900s: Davis #519, Major #338 — Major higher
- 1910s: Davis #535, Major #446 — Major higher
- 1920s: Davis #530, Major #512 — Major higher
- 1930s: Davis #547, Major #573 — Davis higher
- 1940s: Davis #553, Major #586 — Davis higher
- 1950s: Davis #626, Major #688 — Davis higher
- 1960s: Davis #713, Major #902 — Davis higher
- 1970s: Davis #787, Major #1128 — Davis higher
- 1980s: Davis #635, Major #1334 — Davis higher
- 1990s: Davis #452, Major #1967 — Davis higher
- 2000s: Davis #391, Major #1648 — Davis higher
- 2010s: Davis #466, Major #481 — Davis higher
- 2020s: Davis #611, Major #494 — Major higher
Davis stood higher in 9 of 15 decades; Major took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Davis | Major |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #483 | #274 |
| 1890s | #511 | #287 |
| 1900s | #519 | #338 |
| 1910s | #535 | #446 |
| 1920s | #530 | #512 |
| 1930s | #547 | #573 |
| 1940s | #553 | #586 |
| 1950s | #626 | #688 |
| 1960s | #713 | #902 |
| 1970s | #787 | #1128 |
| 1980s | #635 | #1334 |
| 1990s | #452 | #1967 |
| 2000s | #391 | #1648 |
| 2010s | #466 | #481 |
| 2020s | #611 | #494 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Davis
Son of David; David itself is Hebrew for "beloved"
The patronymic origin is not in doubt. Davis and Davies are the same formation: David's son, with the possessive worn down over centuries of use.
Dawid → David → Dewi → Davies → Davis
How it traveled
David reached medieval Britain through the Bible and through Dewi, the Welsh form borne by the patron saint of Wales, which made it one of the most-used baptismal names in the country. From it grew the patronymic Davies, and its variant Davis, until the two stood among the most frequent surnames in Wales and the English border counties.
Major
greater, larger (Latin)
The root is Latin *maior*. Two routes carry it into English: the military rank, borrowed through French, and the surname Major — which in some families comes from that Latin status word and in others from the Norman personal name Mauger.
maior (Latin) → majour / major (Old French, Middle English) → Major
How it traveled
*Maior*, the Latin comparative of *magnus*, gave English both *mayor* and *major*, and the army rank arrived from French in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. As a surname, Major has two threads: the Latin status word, and the Norman given name Mauger, carried into England after 1066.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Davis
DAY-viss
Stress on the first syllable. Rarely misread, though the final -s is sometimes softened to a z sound in casual speech.
- Dave — The obvious informal shortening; also stands entirely on its own as a given name, usually from David.
- Davy — Older short form of David, used affectionately and mostly within families.
- Day — An informal clip heard occasionally, more a family habit than a standard nickname.
Major
MAY-jer
Two syllables, stress on the first, exactly like the English word. No regional variation to speak of in the US.
- Maj — Occasional informal clipping; the name is short enough that most bearers are called by it in full.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Davis if you want…
- plenty of nickname options3 recorded short forms — Dave, Davy and Day
Choose Major if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsMajor is stepping back from its peak
- a name that stays wholeone recorded short form for Major (Maj)
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Davis
Strengths
- A spelling almost every American already knows from the surname, so it is written correctly on the first attempt.
- Two syllables with clear first-syllable stress — easy to call across a yard and easy for a small child to say.
- Ready-made short forms in Dave and Davy, both in use for centuries.
To consider
- It still reads as a surname to many ears, which means occasional forms filled in the wrong order and the odd "and your first name?" It resolves quickly, but it happens.
- Davis is one of the most common surnames in the country, so check it against your own — and be aware that the Confederate president Jefferson Davis carried it, an association that surfaces more often in some regions than others.
- Because it sits so close to David, some people will default to calling him David or Dave without asking.
Major
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds and already familiar as an English word — almost no one will ask how to write it or say it.
- Two clean syllables with a strong first beat, which sits easily against most one-syllable surnames.
- Part of a recognizable American naming tradition alongside Duke, Earl and King, so it has precedent rather than novelty behind it.
To consider
- People hear the military rank first, and will keep hearing it. Expect a lifetime of small jokes about promotions, and a particular tangle if he ever joins the service and is addressed by an actual rank.
- It is also an ordinary English word — a college major, major and minor, the major issue — so the name turns up in sentences that have nothing to do with him.
- Its use is noticeably concentrated in the South and Texas; elsewhere it will read as more unusual, and he is likely to be the only one in his class either way.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Davis and Major in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Davis and Major?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Quiet perennials: a century old, never popular
- Names that begin and end with the same letter
- Names ending in -or
- all guides
Where Davis and Major each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Davis or Major — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Davis or Major?
- Davis, in 2025: Davis ranked #668 with 409 babies; Major ranked #669 with 407 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Davis or Major?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Davis moved down 115 places; Major moved down 320 places.
- Which is the older name, Davis or Major?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Davis and Major?
- About 26,500 people named Davis are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 16,000 people named Major are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Daviss or Majors in the classroom?
- Davis will almost certainly be the only one in school. Major will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
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