Irish surname search
Davis
The name Davis is found in many sixteenth century Irish records in various parts of the country though not among the landed gentry. The outstanding figure of the name was Thomas Osborne Davis (1814-1845), poet and patriot. His father was a British army surgeon, his mother an Atkins of the well known Mallow family, in which town Thomas Davis was born and lived. The name Davis, used as a synonym of MacDavid in Co. Wexford, now hides the identity of that branch of the MacMurroughs.