# "American" surname variants (Davis vs. Davies) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 12, 2004, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-surname-variants-davis-vs-davies/244832 "2004-05-12T18:58:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-surname-variants-davis-vs-davies/244832/21 "2010-06-28T03:35:49Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > I believe the origin of “Davis” is no less English than that of “Davies.” I doubt very much that it was created in America. Indeed, I was always of the impression that “Davies” was originally the Welsh version of the English “Davis.” I have always been under the impression that it was the other way around. That is, that “Davies” is of English origin, and “Davis” is Welsh. (My cite is that my father was Welsh, and I have a Welsh name myself, although it is one of those that is so common that few people are aware of its Welshness.) ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-surname-variants-davis-vs-davies/244832/22 "2010-06-28T11:09:30Z")
One of my colleagues has the surname “Davies” and gets very annoyed when people pronounce it with a long “ee” sound in the second syllable. She says the e is silent. That learned me, as I’d never encountered anyone with that name before and naturally prnounced it like “Davey” with an s on the end, at first. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-surname-variants-davis-vs-davies/244832/23 "2010-06-28T14:10:15Z")
Zombie thread. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Dave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/46a35a/32.png) [@Great\_Dave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Dave)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-surname-variants-davis-vs-davies/244832/24 "2010-06-28T15:04:26Z")
There is Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, pronounced “Davey’s” ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-surname-variants-davis-vs-davies/244832/25 "2010-06-28T17:05:20Z")
How did Canadian author Robertson Davies pronounce it? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-surname-variants-davis-vs-davies/244832.md?page=1)