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Irish surname

Davis: Irish Surname History & Coat of Arms

Dáibhis; Mac Dáibhidh · Dáibhis: Woulfe gives only 'an hibernicised form of the English or Welsh surname Davis'; Mac Dáibhidh: 'son of David'

Woulfe (1923) gives Davis as an hibernicised form of the English or Welsh surname Davis. He also prints Davis under Mac Dáibhidh Mór, the Wexford MacDavid family, where he says the name is now anglicised Davis. In 1890 Matheson records 104 entries including spelling varieties (95 spelled Davis).

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Coat of arms associated with the Davis surname
Irish formDáibhis; Mac Dáibhidh
MeaningDáibhis: Woulfe gives only 'an hibernicised form of the English or Welsh surname Davis'; Mac Dáibhidh: 'son of David'
CountiesWexford, Dublin, Antrim
Other spellings3
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Origin of the Davis name

Woulfe: Dáibhis is 'an hibernicised form of the English or Welsh surname Davis'. Mac Dáibhidh: 'several distinct families', two native Irish (Thomond and Wexford, the latter 'of the same stock as the MacMurroughs') and one Scottish, 'once numerous and powerful in Badenoch'.[1][2]

  1. 1814Thomas Osborne Davis is born at Mallow (Webb).[6]
  2. 1842Thomas Davis and others start the Nation newspaper (Webb).[6]
  3. 1845Thomas Davis dies at his Baggot Street residence, Dublin, 16 September.[6]
  4. 1890104 Davis entries including spelling varieties (95 spelled Davis).[4]

Where in Ireland

Co. WexfordWoulfe: the MacDavids' patrimony lay in the north-east of the county; 'now anglicised Davis in Wexford'.[3]
Co. DublinMatheson 1890: Dublin and Antrim are the counties where Davis was principally found.[4]
Co. AntrimSee Dublin.[4]

Notable people named Davis

Thomas Osborne Davis1814–1845Poet and politician, born at Mallow; started the Nation newspaper in 1842; died in Dublin.[6]

Other spellings

Davies · Davys · MacDavid[5]

Scottish connection

Woulfe: of the several MacDavid families, one is Scottish, 'once numerous and powerful in Badenoch'. He does not link it to the English or Welsh Davis.[2]

The Davis coat of arms

The design shown is a coat of arms associated with the Davis surname. In Irish and British heraldry a coat of arms is granted to one person and passes to their heirs; it does not belong to everyone who shares the surname. Many families still use the arms of their name as a symbol of their heritage.

Davis surname: questions

Is Davis an Irish surname?

Woulfe prints Dáibhis as 'an hibernicised form of the English or Welsh surname Davis'. He also prints Davis as an anglicisation of Mac Dáibhidh Mór in Wexford, so the name has more than one source.[1][3]

What does Mac Dáibhidh mean?

Woulfe gives Mac Dáibhidh as 'son of David', a name he says was common among the early Anglo-Norman settlers in Ireland.[2]

Where in Ireland is the name Davis found?

Matheson's 1890 report lists Dublin and Antrim as the counties where Davis was principally found, with 104 entries including spelling varieties (95 spelled Davis).[4]

Who was Thomas Davis?

Webb describes Thomas Osborne Davis as a poet and politician born at Mallow on 14 October 1814, who started the Nation newspaper in 1842 and died in Dublin on 16 September 1845.[6]

Sources

  1. Dáibhis — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/d/daibhis.php
  2. Mac Dáibhidh — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/macd/mac-daibhidh.php
  3. Mac Dáibhidh Mór — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/macd/mac-daibhidh-mor-mac-dhaibhidh-mor.php
  4. Davis — Birth Indexes of 1890 — Special Report on Surnames in Ireland (Robert E. Matheson, 1909), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/matheson/report/births/davis.php
  5. Davis — Varieties and Synonymes of Surnames and Christian Names in Ireland (Robert E. Matheson, 1901), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/matheson/varieties/list/426.php
  6. Davis, Thomas Osborne — A Compendium of Irish Biography (Alfred Webb, 1878), LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/biography/ThomasOsborneDavis.php

Note: Matheson's 1890 figures for a surname include its spelling varieties (Matheson, Table Explanation).