Davis History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Welsh Davis surname is a patronymic, meaning “son of David.” Ultimately derived from the Hebrew name “David,” meaning “beloved,” the name became a popular given name throughout Medieval Europe due to the biblical King David of Israel. The popularity of the name was further increased in Britain due to it being the name of the Patron Saint of Wales. Little is known about Saint David, but he is thought to have been a 6th century monk and bishop. The name came to be used as a patronymic name by the Brythonic people of Wales. One of the most famous bearers of this personal name in Wales was David ap Gruffydd, the last Prince of North Wales, who was executed in 1276 by King Edward I of England.

Early Origins of the Davis family

The surname Davis was first found in Flintshire (Welsh: Sir y Fflint), a historic county, created after the defeat of the Welsh Kingdom of Gwynedd in 1284, and located in north-east Wales, where the distinguished Davis family held a family seat from very ancient times. 

They were descended from Cynrig Efell, Lord of Eglwysegle, the twin son of Madog ab Maredadd, the great grandson of Bleddyn ap Cynvin, Prince of Powys, head of the honorable and worthy third Royal Tribe of Wales, who was traitorously murdered in 1073 by the men of Ystrad Tywi, after he had governed all of Wales for 13 years. 

Directly descended from this line was John ap Davydd (John Davies of Gwasanau in the county of Flint).

Early History of the Davis family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Davis research.

Davis Spelling Variations

The Welsh have an extremely large amount of spelling variations of their native surnames to their credit. It was up to the priest or the scribe taking the official records to determine how the spoken name was to be made literal. As time progressed, the old Brythonic names of Wales were recorded in English, which was especially problematic since the English language had extreme difficulty recording the highly inflected sounds of Cymraeg. Spelling variationswere, however, also carried out according to an individual’s design: a branch loyalty within the family, a religious adherence, or even patriotic affiliations could be indicated by spelling variations of one’s name. The spelling variations of the name Davis have included Davies, Davis, Divis and others.

Early Notables of the Davis family (pre 1700)

Prominent amongst the family during the late Middle Ages was John Davis (1550-1605), an English navigator who discovered the Falkland Islands and what is now known as the Davis Strait; James Davis (c. 1575-c. 1623) an English ship captain and author who was part of the expedition of the Virginia Company of Plymouth which established Popham Colony, also called “Northern Virginia”; Francis Davies (1605-1675), a Welsh clergyman, Bishop of Llandaff (1667 to 1675); Edward Davis or Davies (fl. c. 1680-1688) was an English buccaneer active in the Caribbean during the 1680’s; John Davies (1625-1693), a Welsh translator and writer.

Davis World Ranking

In the United States, the name Davis is the 6^th most popular surname with an estimated 1,193,760 people with that name. [1] However, in Canada, the name Davis is ranked the 58^thmost popular surname with an estimated 35,809 people with that name. [2] And in Quebec, Canada, the name Davis is the 863^rd popular surname. [3] Newfoundland, Canada ranks Davis as 60^th with 429 people. [4] Australia ranks Davis as 23^rd with 51,740 people. [5] New Zealand ranks Davis as 21^st with 6,052 people. [6] The United Kingdom ranks Davis as 52^nd with 78,574 people. [7] South Africa ranks Davis as 723^rd with 9,461 people. [8]

 Migration of the Davis family to Ireland

Some of the Davis family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.

 Davis migration to the United States +

During the latter half of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, the people of Walesjourneyed to North America to find a new life. They made major contributions to the arts, industry and commerce of both Canada and the United States, and added a rich cultural heritage to their newly adopted societies. A look at the immigration and passenger lists has shown a number of people bearing the name Davis: 

Davis Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

• James Davis, who arrived in Virginia in 1616 [9]
• John Davis, who landed in Virginia in 1617 [9]
• William Davis, aged 33, who landed in Virginia in 1618 aboard the ship “William and Thomas” [9]
• Mr. Nicholas Davis, aged 13, who arrived in Virginia in 1618 aboard the ship “Mary Gold” [10]
• Mr. Richard Davis, aged 22, who arrived in Virginia in 1619 aboard the “Bona Nova