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.)
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.
Zombie thread.
There is Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, pronounced “Davey’s”
How did Canadian author Robertson Davies pronounce it?