Davey
A masculine diminutive of David, derived from Hebrew meaning "beloved".
Name Census estimates that about 2,822 living Americans carry the first name Davey. It is a predominantly male name (94.5% of registrations). The average person named Davey today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Davey births was 1955 (93 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Davey. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Davey with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.8K
~ 1 in 121,458 Americans
Peak year
1955
93 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,527
Tracked since 1925
Census
Davey in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,563 people with the first name Davey, which placed it at #6,292 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#6,292
National first-name rank
People counted
2.6K
2,563 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
64.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Davey
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Davey is White at 64.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (13.9%) and Black (10.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Davey described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Davey at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White64.1% · 1,642
- Hispanic or Latino13.9% · 355
- Black or African American10.6% · 272
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.0% · 129
- Two or more races4.2% · 108
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.2% · 57
Gender
Gender distribution for Davey
Davey leans heavily male at 94.5% of total registrations, but 191 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Davey as a male name
- Ranked #3,527 in 2024
- 32 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1955 (93 births)
Davey as a female name
- Ranked #6,674 in 2024
- 17 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (26 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Davey leans strongly male. 2,365 people counted with this name were male (92.5%), compared with 191 female bearers (7.5%).
Popularity
Davey: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Davey from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 559 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1950s peak, Davey remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Davey by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Davey during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Daveys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 19 states and territories. California, Texas, North Carolina recorded the most babies named Davey, while West Virginia, Mississippi, Kansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 36 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Davey
The name Davey is a diminutive form of the name David, which has its origins in the Hebrew name דָּוִד (Daveed). The name David is derived from the Hebrew root word "dod," meaning "beloved" or "uncle." It gained widespread popularity due to its association with the biblical figure, King David, who ruled over the ancient Kingdom of Israel around 1000 BCE.
The name Davey emerged as a familiar or diminutive form of David, primarily used as a nickname or shortened version of the name. It was commonly used in English-speaking countries and gained popularity as a standalone given name in its own right.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Davey can be found in the medieval English ballad "Davy and Goli," which dates back to the 13th century. This ballad tells the story of a young man named Davy, who embarks on a adventure with his beloved Goli.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Davey. One of the most famous was Davey Crockett (1786-1836), an American folk hero, frontiersman, and politician. He was known for his exploits as a soldier, hunter, and storyteller, and his legendary status has been immortalized in popular culture.
Another notable figure was Davey Graham (1940-2008), a British guitarist and musician who was a pioneering figure in the British folk revival of the 1960s. He was influential in introducing modal and Eastern influences into British folk music and inspired many later musicians.
In the world of sports, Davey Johnson (born 1943) was a renowned American baseball player and manager. He played for several Major League Baseball teams, including the Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies, and later managed teams like the New York Mets and the Washington Nationals.
Davey Moore (1959-1988) was an American professional boxer who held the WBA featherweight title in the mid-1980s. Tragically, he passed away due to injuries sustained during a fight against Sumbu Kalambay in 1988.
Lastly, Davey Wharton (1941-2011) was a South African cricketer who played for the South African national team in the 1960s and early 1970s. He was a talented all-rounder known for his aggressive batting and effective off-spin bowling.
People
Davey + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Davey as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Davey: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Davey?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,822 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Davey going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 121,458 US residents.
Is Davey a common name?
We classify Davey as "Rare". It ranks above 95% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,503 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Davey most popular?
The single biggest year for Davey was 1955, when 93 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Davey is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Davey in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,563 people with the name Davey, or 0.85 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,292 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Davey in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Davey?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Davey leans strongly male. 2,365 people counted with this name were male (92.5%), compared with 191 female bearers (7.5%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Davey?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Davey is White at 64.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (13.9%) and Black (10.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Davey most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Davey in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.1% (1,642 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Davey in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Davey a male name?
Yes, 94.5% of people registered as Davey in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Davey still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Davey in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Davey can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Davey as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Davey on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.