Davis

An Irish surname of Antrim and Dublin. In the 2010 US census it was carried by 1,116,357 people, the 8th most common surname in the country.

Davis is the anglicised form of four distinct Irish names. Some you can hear in the English name; others look and sound nothing like it, and were simply swapped for it.

Dáibhis

Mac Dáibhidh Mór, Mac Dháibhidh Mór. This family stood in Co. Wexford.

Mac Dáibhidh, son of David (a common name among the early Anglo-Norman settlers in Ireland). This family stood in Co. Galway and Co. Wexford.

Ó Daimhín, descendant of Daimhín (diminutive of damh , bard, poet). This family stood in Co. Fermanagh.

Where the name comes from

Mac Dáibhidh is son of David, a common name among the early Anglo-Norman settlers, and there are several distinct families of it. Two are native: MacDavid of Thomond, and MacDavid of Wexford, who are of the same stock as the MacMurroughs and descend from Murchadh na nGaedheal, brother of Dermot MacMurrough. The head of the Wexford family was known as Mac Dáibhidh Mór, the great MacDavid, and the name there is now anglicised Davis.

Ó Daimhín, descendant of Daimhín, a little bard or poet, is an Oriel family of the same stock as the Maguires who were chiefs of Tirkennedy in the east of Co. Fermanagh. It is generally Devine in Ulster and Davin in Munster and Connacht, but in West Galway it is sometimes made Davy and Davis.

The Giant's Causeway at twilight with wet hexagonal basalt columns stretching to the sea and long exposure blurred waves
The Giant's Causeway, Co. Antrim

The Davis counties, photographed

Antrim

The Antrim coast road runs about 25 miles between the cliffs and the sea, with nine glens coming down to it. The rock is basalt, the same flow that formed the Giant's Causeway. Scotland is 12 miles off at the narrowest point and visible on a clear day.

The iconic Dark Hedges beech tree tunnel near Armoy in County Antrim with intertwined branches forming a brooding canopyThe Dark Hedges, Co. Antrim Co. Antrim Long exposure of Pan's Rock with its footbridge at dawn on the Antrim Causeway Coast, silky water and blurred clouds, Rathlin Island on the horizonPan's Rock, Co. Antrim Co. Antrim Sunrise over Colliery Bay with Fair Head cliffs and mountains, Co. Antrim, fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxColliery Bay & Fair Head, Co. Antrim Co. Antrim Dunluce Castle on coastal cliffs with long exposure sea, Co. Antrim, fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxDunluce Castle, Co. Antrim Co. Antrim Black and white photograph of a rainstorm sweeping across the Skerries islands off the North Antrim coast near PortrushRainstorm, the Skerries, Co. Antrim Co. Antrim Sunset over Bengore Head with waves rolling over rocks, Co. Antrim, Ireland — fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxBengore Head, Co. Antrim Co. Antrim Sunset over the Skerries coast in County Antrim with warm light reflecting on wet sand and rock formationsThe Skerries, Co. Antrim Co. Antrim

Dublin

Dublin is a county as well as a city. The bay has Howth at the north end and Killiney Hill at the south, the Muglins are a pair of rocks off Dalkey, and the Dublin Mountains start about half an hour from the city centre.

Moonlight reflecting on the sea near the Muglins lighthouse off Dalkey Island, Dublin, with the Kish light on the horizonThe Muglins by Moonlight II Co. Dublin Long exposure panoramic view of the White Rock swimming platform at Killiney Bay, Dublin, floating in misty high-tide watersThe White Rock, Killiney Bay, Co. Dublin Co. Dublin Heron fishing at dawn on the Dublin coast — fine art wildlife photograph by Peter CoxHeron, Co. Dublin Co. Dublin

All Antrim prints · All Dublin prints

Notable bearers

Bette Davis (1908-1989), actor, musician, and autobiographer.

Miles Davis (1926-1991), actor, musician, and composer.

Angela Davis (born 1944), writer, politician, and university teacher.

Jefferson Davis (1808-1889), writer, politician, and businessperson.

Viola Davis (born 1965), actor and television producer.

About this page

The counties on this page are where the name was thickest on the ground in Ireland a century and a half ago, not a claim about any one family. Names moved around inside the country as much as they left it. The photographs are mine, made in the counties named.

More Irish surnames: Williams · Edwards · Cooper · Kelly · Cox · Brooks · Wood · James · Price · Butler · Jordan · Cole

How common the name was

In 1890, 104 births were registered under Davis in Ireland, most of them in Antrim and Dublin.

Leinster 41
Ulster 34
Munster 17
Connacht 12
Ireland 104