Clan Rising

Davies

also Davis

Son of David, born of the patron saint's name and densest in his own corner of Wales.

Origin
Deheubarth, Wales
Famous bearer
Howell Davis (c.1690–1719), Welsh pirate captain of the Golden Age of Piracy
Register
Welsh family
Territory of Davies

CoreHistoric reach

The seat of Davies

Seat vacant

Chief

No one leads the Davies community yet. When the movement opens, you can stand for its leadership, or help elect whoever does.

Current mission

No shared goal set yet. Once Davies has leadership, it sets the public focus: a restoration, a gathering, a real-world project that helps its own.

The Davies clan is being rebuilt. Join the waiting list for the movement today, and you help decide who leads it and what it does.

Help rebuild the Davies clan →

What does the Davies name mean?

Son of David. The patronymic 'ap Dafydd', son of David, compressed into a single surname under the Tudor administration; the genitive 's' added in the English fashion. David is the patron saint of Wales (Dewi Sant, c.500–589), founder of the monastery at St Davids in Pembrokeshire, and his name has been the most-given male name in Wales for fifteen centuries.

The history of Davies

Davies is the third most common Welsh surname. Its centre of gravity is the south-west, Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire, the country that surrounds St Davids itself, where the cult of the patron saint embedded the name most deeply for the longest.

The variant 'Davis' became more common among the families that emigrated to North America in the colonial period, and is the dominant spelling in the United States; Davies remained the standard in Wales. Both descend from the same patronymic mechanic.

The 19th-century Welsh industrial diaspora carried the name into the coalfields of Pennsylvania and the iron towns of Ohio, where Davies and Davis chapels are scattered through every county that took Welsh labour.

Champions of the Davies name

The bearers whose lives are inseparable from this surname. Each has its own page — biography, achievements, geography, connection to the family.

Step Into History

Walk the streets and seats the Davies name knew — a photoreal walk through time, on foot.

Step Into History · New

Walk Caernarfon in 1320Enter →

Edward I's walled bastide and mighty castle in North Wales, a generation after the conquest — the banded towers still rising.

Step Into History · New

Walk Harlech Castle in 1404Enter →

Owain Glyndŵr's mountain fortress and court at the high tide of Welsh independence, the English siege lines gathering below.

Step Into History · New

Walk Raglan Castle in 1645Enter →

The grandest castle-palace in Wales at its height — the moated Yellow Tower, fountain courts and long gallery, on the eve of the siege.

Step Into History · New

Walk Cardiff Docks in 1913Enter →

The greatest coal port on earth at its peak — the hoists and colliers, the Coal Exchange and the streets of Tiger Bay.

Notable bearers of the Davies name

  • Howell Davis (c.1690–1719), Welsh pirate captain of the Golden Age of Piracy
  • W. H. Davies (1871–1940), Newport-born poet of 'Leisure' and the Autobiography of a Super-Tramp
  • Andrew Davies (b. 1936), screenwriter (Pride and Prejudice, House of Cards)
  • Russell T Davies (b. 1963), television writer (Doctor Who, Queer as Folk)

Stories of Davies

Frequently asked

What does the surname Davies mean?

Son of David. The patronymic 'ap Dafydd', son of David, compressed into a single surname under the Tudor administration; the genitive 's' added in the English fashion. David is the patron saint of Wales (Dewi Sant, c.500–589), founder of the monastery at St Davids in Pembrokeshire, and his name has been the most-given male name in Wales for fifteen centuries. Davies is the third most common Welsh surname.

Where does the Davies family come from?

The Davies family is rooted in Deheubarth, in Wales. Within that, the name was particularly concentrated in Sir Benfro and Sir Gâr. The atlas page for the name records the historical territory it has held over the centuries.

Where did the Davies family historically hold territory?

At its greatest historical extent, the Davies name has been concentrated in Ceredigion, Powys, The Valleys, Bro Morgannwg, Abertawe & Gŵyr and Cardiff. The atlas page distinguishes the core territory of the name from this wider historical reach with hatched silhouettes on the map.

Is Davies a Wales surname?

Yes, Davies is a Wales surname. Its editorial home in this atlas is Wales, where the historical territory and family record of the name are concentrated.

How old is the Davies surname?

Davies is the third most common Welsh surname. European hereditary surnames crystallised broadly between the 12th and 14th centuries, and the Davies name took its modern form within that long settlement.

What is the Davies family known for?

Son of David, born of the patron saint's name and densest in his own corner of Wales. Davies is the third most common Welsh surname.

Who is the most famous Davies?

The best-known bearer of the Davies name is Howell Davis (c.1690–1719), Welsh pirate captain of the Golden Age of Piracy. Other prominent figures of the family include W. H. Davies (1871–1940), Newport-born poet of 'Leisure' and the Autobiography of a Super-Tramp, Andrew Davies (b. 1936), screenwriter (Pride and Prejudice, House of Cards) and Russell T Davies (b. 1963), television writer (Doctor Who, Queer as Folk).

Who are some famous Davieses?

Notable bearers of the Davies name include Howell Davis (c.1690–1719), Welsh pirate captain of the Golden Age of Piracy, W. H. Davies (1871–1940), Newport-born poet of 'Leisure' and the Autobiography of a Super-Tramp, Andrew Davies (b. 1936), screenwriter (Pride and Prejudice, House of Cards) and Russell T Davies (b. 1963), television writer (Doctor Who, Queer as Folk). Each is profiled on the family page, with cross-links to the geography, stories, and historical events tied to their life.

What stories are told about the Davies family?

The Davies family is associated with Howell Davis on Príncipe. Each story has its own page on this site with the full account, the date, the location, and the other families involved.

What is the story of Howell Davis on Príncipe?

On the morning of the nineteenth of June 1719, on the volcanic island of Príncipe in the Gulf of Guinea off the West African coast, the Welsh pirate captain Howell Davis, twenty-nine years old, the master of a pirate squadron (the thirty-two-gun Royal Rover, the twenty-six-gun Royal James, and a six-gun captured-Portuguese sloop), was killed in an ambush by the Portuguese garrison of the island while attempting to perpetrate a confidence-trick on the Portuguese governor. Davis had brought the squadron into the Príncipe anchorage on the fourteenth of June flying the Royal Navy ensign and claiming to be the Royal Navy commander of a anti-piracy squadron; the confidence-trick was to invite the Portuguese governor aboard for a courtesy-dinner, take him hostage, and ransom him for the trade-goods of the island's warehouses. The event is dated to 1719.

Is Davis the same family as Davies?

Yes. Davis is a historical spelling variant of the Davies name. The two share the same lineage and family affiliation; different parishes, clerks and migration registrars recorded the same name in slightly different forms, and the variant spellings sit on the same family tree.

Where is the Davies surname found today?

Wales is the primary historical home of the Davies surname. In the modern era, the name is also borne across the wider diaspora, particularly in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, where families carry the line of descent from the same Wales origin recorded on this page.

What does the Clan Rising page for the Davies family cover?

The Clan Rising page for the Davies family covers the meaning of the surname, the historical geography of the name, famous bearers of the name, traditional stories and the seat of the head of the family. Each section is linked to the underlying atlas of Wales so the name can be read in the geography that shaped it.

Who is the head of the Davies family today?

The seat for the head of the Davies family is currently vacant on this register. Clan Rising is rebuilding the chief and family structure for the modern era, and the family page allows readers to claim the seat or pledge to the name.

Neighbouring clans