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Davin History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Davin History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France
Ireland

The rich and ancient history of the Davin family name dates back to the time when France was immersed in the Dark Ages. This Breton name is derived from the popular given name David, which means beloved. The name was also often used as a nickname for a sergeant. 1

Early Origins of the Davin family

The surname Davin was first found in Brittany, where this family was recorded in ancient times.

The name was also found with multiple noble families in diverse parts of the western regions of France. A branch formed in Orleans, the Davids of Conflans, who were mentioned three times in the Armorial of 1696, and who received testimony from the military schools. Another branch, the Davids of Perdreauville, in the county of Montfort-l'Amaury, known since 1400, contributed pages to the King and Queen and three ladies of Saint-Cyr.

The Davids of Fief, in the province of Aunis, reaffirmed their title of nobility in 1672. In the Armorial of 1696, there are also two records of the name in the city of La Rochelle, eight in Tours, nineteen in Poitou, fourteen in Normandy, six in the generality of Alençon, and seven in Caen. Many branches of the name Davy were found in Anjou, Brittany, and Normandy. 2

Jacques David, born in 1631, son of Blaise and Flavie (née Morel), settled in New France in the 17th century. He married Marie Grandin, born in 1646, daughter of Claude and Jeanne (née Tousain), at Château-Richer, Quebec on 29th August 1662. 3

Early History of the Davin family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Davin research. Another 113 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1354, 1380, 1427, 1441, 1460, 1510, 1523, 1535, 1579, 1668, 1670, 1672 and 1810 are included under the topic Early Davin History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Davin Spelling Variations

Throughout the course of history most surnames have undergone changes for many reasons. During the early development of the French language, a son and father may not have chosen to spell their name the same way. Many are simple spelling changes by a person who gave his name, phonetically, to a scribe, priest, or recorder. Many names held prefixes or suffixes which became optional as they passed through the centuries, or were adopted by different branches to signify either a political or religious adherence. Hence, we have many spelling variations of this name, Davin some of which are David, Davy, Davis, Daviaud, Davion, Daviot, Davioud, Davidou, Davin, Davinet, Davinroy, Davet, Davier and many more.

Early Notables of the Davin family

Notable amongst this name at this time was Gerhard David (c. 1460-1523), Flemish painter; and Ferenc Dávid (Francis David) (c.1510-1579), a Transylvanian Nontrinitarian and Unitarian preacher, the founder of the Unitarian Church of Transylvania. Félicien David was "one of the most prominent of French composers, was born March 8 [App. p.608 "April 13"], 1810, at Cadenet, in the south of France. His father was an accomplished musical amateur, and it is said that Félicien at the mature age of two evinced his musical taste by shouts of applause at his father's performances on the fiddle. At...
Another 94 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Davin Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Davin Ranking

In the United States, the name Davin is the 16,987^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 4 However, in France, the name Davin is ranked the 4,108^th most popular surname with an estimated 1,500 - 2,000 people with that name. 5

Davin migration to the United States +

Approximately 110 years after the first landings by Cartier, there were only about 300 people in Quebec. France gave land incentives for 2,000 migrants during the next decade. Early marriage was desperately encouraged amongst the immigrants. The fur trade attracted migrants, both noble and commoner. 15,000 explorers left Montreal in the late 17th and 18th centuries. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec. Migration to New France (Quebec) continued from France until it fell in 1759. In the year 1675 the Acadian presence in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island had reached 500. In 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported to Louisiana. The French founded Lower Canada, thus becoming one of the two great founding nations of Canada. The distinguished family name Davin has made significant contributions to the culture, arts, sciences and religion of France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Davin were

Davin Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Andres Davin, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1860 6
Patrick Davin, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1875 6
Edward Davin, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1879 6
Camille Davin, aged 24, who landed in America, in 1892
Colin Davin, aged 40, who immigrated to the United States, in 1892
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Davin Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Agnes Davin, aged 25, who landed in America, in 1906
Guilain Davin, aged 26, who immigrated to the United States, in 1907
Delia Davin, aged 18, who settled in America from BallyhAunis, Ireland, in 1909
A.H. Davin, who immigrated to America, in 1909
Bridget Davin, aged 21, who settled in America from Kilmauog, Ireland, in 1910
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Davin migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Davin Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Johanna Davin, who settled in Canada in 1846

Davin migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Davin Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Miss Julia Davin, (b. 1860), aged 23, Scottish settler travelling from Glasgow aboard the ship "Forfarshire" arriving in Invercargill, Southland, South Island, New Zealand on 26th June 1883 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Davin (post 1700) +

Tom Davin, American businessman and CEO of Panda Restaurant Group (2004 to 2009)
Jean Davin, French Brigadier General during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1789 to 1815 8
Patrick Davin (1962-2020), Belgian orchestra conductor
William Davin (d. 1956), Irish station-master and politician
Nicholas Flood Davin (1840-1901), Irish-born, Canadian lawyer, politician, and journalist, first MP for Assiniboia West (1887 to 1900)
Franco Davin (b. 1970), Argentine tennis player and coach
Daniel Marcus "Dan" Davin OBE (1913-1990), New Zealand writer and Rhodes Scholar
Davin Meggett (b. 1990), American football running back

Citations +

Dionne, N.-E., Origine Des Familles Canadiennes-Français. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1969. Print.
Hozier, Charles D, and Antoine Bachelin-Delforenne. État présent De La Noblesse française (1883-1887): Contenant Le Distionnaire De La Noblesse Contemporaine Et Larmorial général De France, Dapres Les Manuscrits De Ch. D Hozier. Librairie Des Bibliophiles, 1884. Print.
Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815. (Retrieved 2015, February 26) Jean Davin. Retrieved from http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/c_frenchgenerals.html