Davy
A surname usually meaning “son of David,” from a familiar medieval form of the biblical name.
The #9,770 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 93,108 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Davy is generally treated as a patronymic from David, with Davy functioning as a short or familiar medieval form of the biblical given name. In this sense, the surname originally meant “son of David.” The name David itself is of Hebrew origin and means “beloved.”
History
The historical excerpts link Davy with the broader English surname family Davis, Davies, Davie, and Davidson, all built from David. It appears in medieval records in England, and the spelling Davy became established alongside other regional and phonetic variants. In later centuries it remained a fairly common English surname, especially in Britain and North America.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Nineteenth-century surname writers often grouped Davy with the many David-based surnames because medieval nicknames and spellings varied so freely.
From the historical record
“Judge. What bail ? What sureties ? - Davy. Her cozen ap Rice, ap Evan, ap Morice, ap Morgan, ap Lluellyn, ap Madoc, ap Meredith, ap Griffin, ap Davis, ap Owen, ap Shinkin [Jenkin] Jones. Judge. Two of the most sufficient are enow.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)Notable people named Davy
- Humphry Davy (1778–1829)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.