DaveyvsDavisWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“Davey” and “Davis” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#18,534
“Davey” frequency rank
#3,052
“Davis” frequency rank
21586
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Davey Davis
Definition A diminutive of the male given name David. A surname

Where the eye mixes Davey and Davis

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Davey
5 ch
Davis

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Davey (/ˈdeɪvi/) and Davis (/ˈdeɪ.vɪs/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21586, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Davey is recorded at frequency rank #18,534, classified as aname, pronounced /ˈdeɪvi/. Davis is at rank #3,052, tagged as aname, pronounced /ˈdeɪ.vɪs/.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 21586, this pair ranks #422,817 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Davey vs Davis

Shared letters: adv. Private to "Davey": ey. Private to "Davis": is.

"Davey" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV  ·  "Davis" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Daveyadvey · daevy · daveyy · davvey · davye · ddavey · dvaey
  • Davisadvis · daivs · daviss · davsi · davvis · ddavis · dvais

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Davey" and "Davis" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈdeɪvi/ versus /ˈdeɪ.vɪs/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Davey" or "Davis"?
"Davis" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,052 in our English list, against #18,534 for "Davey". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "Davey" and "Davis". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Davey" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Davis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #422,817 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Davey" and "Davis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Davey vs dicey". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list