Davis
Masculine · “Son of David”
Davis is given to both — 32,076 boys and 1,038 girls since 1880. See Davis as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Davis began as a way of saying "son of David" and became one of the commonest surnames in Wales and England before Americans started handing it out as a first name. It has the useful shape of a name that stops cleanly on its second syllable — DAY-viss — and it has been on the American record continuously since the earliest years such things were counted.
How old is the name Davis?
Davis was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Davis alive today was born around 2001, making them about 24 years old. About 26,500 people named Davis are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Davis most popular?
Davis peaked in 1901, reaching #334 nationally. Today it ranks #668, 334 places below that high. See the whole 1901 chart.
Davis appears on this list:
Where it comes from
From Dawid to Davis
The story of Davis
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. Emigration carried them across the Atlantic in enormous numbers, and American families then did what they did with Wesley, Clifford and Grant: turned the surname back into a first name, often to keep a mother's or grandmother's family line in circulation. That practice has always been strongest in the South, which is still where Davis is most concentrated as a given name.
Meaning
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.
How the name formed
- Dawid
- David
- Dewi
- Davies
- Davis
Related forms: Davies · Davidson · Dawson · David · Dewi
Pronouncing Davis
DAY-viss
Stress on the first syllable. Rarely misread, though the final -s is sometimes softened to a z sound in casual speech.
Nicknames for Davis
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 2007756 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #334reached in 1901
- Change vs 2022
- −7.3%409 in 2025, from 441
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Davis in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Davies in Welsh — spelling variant
- Davidson in Scottish — related form
- Dawson in English — related form
- David in Hebrew — related form
- Dewi in Welsh — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, North Carolina, Georgia.
Daviss among us
people named Davis are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 4,176 born in 2025 was named Davis
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Davis sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Davis is headed
Davis should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Davis beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Davis in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- 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.
- Documented in an unbroken line back to the Hebrew David, with sibling forms in Welsh, Scottish and English.
- 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.
- It is well past its high point and thinly spread, so a Davis will likely be the only one in his class — pleasant for some families, less so for a child who would rather blend in.
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What they receive
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Davis
Masculine · #668 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Daviss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 26,500 people named Davis are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Davis in 2025?
- Davis ranks #668 among US boy names in 2025, with 409 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Davis?
- About 1 in every 4,176 US boys born in 2025 was named Davis — 409 in all.
- Will my child share the name Davis with classmates?
- Davis will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Davis
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Major#669 · Jaxton#667 · Ahmad#669 · Wylder#669 · Chaim#666 · Benicio#672 · Wilson#672 · Creed#663
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Davis? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Davis and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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