DAVY JONES
Mariner Folklore
Evil Sea Spirit
Originated in the 17th Century
This fiend or evil SPIRIT of the sea in the folklore of sailors warns of impending drowning and traps the souls of the drowned in his “locker” in the deep. The derivation of the name has several probable sources. It is possible that the name Davy is derived from the Celtic name for watercourse: Tau or Taff, which is the derivation of many river names in the United Kingdom such as the Tavy and Tywi. The Jones part of the name may be from the Celtic diminutive Shon, from which come the first names Sean and John, and which are used in the same way as in JACK FROST, and reminiscent of the Highland SHONEY. There is also evidence of numerous mythological underworld and underworld bone-constructed prisons for the lost souls, the Celtic example being called OCHREN. A further possibility is that Davy is from the West Indian term for ghost or devil known as Duppy, and Jones may be derived from Jonah, the biblical symbol of death and misfortune at sea, all of which would be familiar to the seventeenth-century mariner.
Source: Spirits, Fairies, Leprechauns, and Goblins Encyclopedia