Davis

About Davis

Davis is an English surname name meaning “son of David.” Its two syllables keep much of David's familiar sound while giving it a surname ending. The spelling also resembles Latvian Dāvis, another member of the David family, but with a different route into personal use.

Origin and related names

The surname Davis developed from David, a Hebrew name associated with the meaning “beloved.” Davies and Davidson are related surnames, while Dave and Davie are familiar personal forms of David.

As an English given name, Davis follows the use of a family surname in the first-name position. Latvian Dāvis is instead a contracted form of Dāvids, the Latvian David. When the vowel mark is omitted, the spellings coincide, but the English surname history does not explain the Latvian form.

English Davis is pronounced DAY-vis, with the emphasis on the first syllable. Dave can be an informal shortening, drawing on the shared David family, although Davis already has a compact everyday sound.

The Davis Cup

The Davis Cup gives the surname a prominent sporting association. The tennis competition began in 1900 with a match between the United States and Great Britain at Boston's Longwood Cricket Club.

Dwight Davis was one of four Harvard tennis players behind the idea. He designed a tournament format and paid for a trophy. Originally called the International Lawn Tennis Challenge, the competition became known by the name attached to his cup.

This is a surname connection, rather than an example of Davis as a first name. It nevertheless gives the spelling a long association with international team tennis.

Davis Love III

Golfer Davis Love III is a well-known bearer of the given name. He won the 1997 PGA Championship at Winged Foot in New York, finishing five strokes ahead of Justin Leonard.

His final total was eleven under par, with rounds of 66, 71, 66, and 66. His brother Mark served as his caddie for that victory, adding a family connection to the championship story.

Love entered the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2017. His name also preserves a family sequence: his father, Davis Love Jr., was a respected golf teacher.

Davis Guggenheim and documentary film

Director Davis Guggenheim won the documentary feature Oscar in 2007 for An Inconvenient Truth. The film featured former United States vice president Al Gore, who joined Guggenheim and others onstage when the award was announced.

The documentary also won the original song award for Melissa Etheridge's “I Need to Wake Up.” The documentary feature and songwriting awards went to Guggenheim and Etheridge respectively.

American popularity

Davis reached its largest published annual count for boys in 2007, with 756 births. Its best ranking came much earlier, at #338 in 1901.

In 2025, 409 boys received the name, ranking #668, compared with 681 boys in 2000. There were also 25 girls named Davis in 2025. These figures describe the exact spelling rather than combining it with David or Davies.

How popular is Davis?

In 2025, Davis ranked #668 among boys in the United States, with 409 recorded uses. The U.S. birth records first list this spelling for boys in 1880; its largest annual count was 756 in 2007. Rankings count each spelling separately. They describe national use, so local familiarity can differ. The popularity chart shows whether the name has remained common, returned after a quieter period, or risen recently.