| Origin | |
|---|---|
| Meaning | "David's Son (or Descendant)" |
| Other names | |
| Variant form(s) | Davey, Davidian, Davidoglu, Davidoff, Davidopoulos, Davidov, Davidović, Davidovičius, Davidescu, Davids, Davidsen, Davidsson, Davidyan, Davies, Davis, Dea, Deas, Deivson, Day, Davison, Davitashvili, Dawes, Dawidowicz, Dawson, McDaid, McDevitt, Tavitian, Tavityan |
Davidson is a patronymic surname, meaning "son/descendant of David" (or "Beloved Son/Descendant"; 'David' lit. "Beloved One"). In the Highlands of Scotland, where the surname is an anglicised version of the Gaelic "mac Daibhidh", Clan Davidson was traditionally a sept of the Clan Chattan Confederation. There are alternate spellings, including those common in the British Isles and Scandinavia: Davidsen, Davisson, Davison, Daveson, Davidsson. While the given name comes from the Hebrew "David", meaning beloved, Davidson is rarely used as a masculine given name or nickname.[1][2]
It is also an anglicised version of the Ashkenazi Jewish surname Davidovitch, Slavic for "son of David" and Davidoff.