Ewan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland
England

The ancestors of the Ewan family come from the ancient Scottish kingdom of Dalriada. The family name comes from the Gaelic personal name Eógann, which comes from the Latin name, Eugenius, which means well born. Ewan is a patronymic surname, which belongs to the category of hereditary surnames. Many patronyms were formed when a son used his father's personal name as a surname, while others came from the personal names of famous religious and secular figures. The Ewan family was established in Scotland, well before the Norman Conquest of England, in 1066.

Euing appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 and may have been derived from Eawa's son. A Eawa was brother of Penda, king of Mercia. 1 However, another source claims the name was a "descendant of Ewen (warrior)." 2

And yet another source claims the name "goes back to the Greek eugenes (wellborn.)" 3

Early Origins of the Ewan family

The surname Ewan was first found in Argyllshire (Gaelic erra Ghaidheal), the region of western Scotland corresponding roughly with the ancient Kingdom of Dál Riata, in the Strathclyde region of Scotland, now part of the Council Area of Argyll and Bute, where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D. The earliest recorded bearer of the name was Dovenaldus Ewain, documented in 1164.

Early History of the Ewan family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ewan research. Another 136 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1164, 1178, 1546, 1555, 1598, 1611, 1621, 1633, 1636, 1664, 1678, 1681, 1687, 1717 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Ewan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ewan Spelling Variations

Historical recordings of the name Ewan include many spelling variations. They are the result of repeated translations of the name from Gaelic to English and inconsistencies in spelling rules. They include Ewing, Ewin, Ewen, Ewans, Ewens, Eugene, Ewan and many more.

Early Notables of the Ewan family

Another 40 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Ewan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Ewan family to Ireland

Some of the Ewan family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 60 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ewan migration to the United States +

Dalriadan families proliferated in North America. Their descendants still populate many communities in the eastern parts of both the United States and Canada. Some settled in Canada as United Empire Loyalists, in the wake of the American War of Independence. Families on both sides of the border have recovered much of their heritage in the 20th century through Clan societies and highland games. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Ewan or a variant listed above:

Ewan Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Charles Ewan, who landed in New York in 1807 4
Hugh Ewan, who arrived in New York in 1807 4
John Ewan, who landed in New York in 1807 4

Ewan migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Ewan Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Miss Ann Ewan, Scottish convict who was convicted in Perth, Scotland for 7 years, transported aboard the "Emma Eugenia" on 22nd January 1846, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 5
Cornelius Ewan, aged 20, who arrived in South Australia in 1856 aboard the ship "Switzerland"

Contemporary Notables of the name Ewan (post 1700) +

John William Ewan, American Republican politician, Postmaster at Maama, Florida, 1876-77; Miami, Florida, 1877-79 6
J. G. Ewan, American politician, Delegate to Nebraska State Constitutional Convention, 1875 6
Robert Ewan Fordyce FRSNZ (1953-2023), New Zealand palaeontologist
Greville Ewan Janner (1928-2015), Baron Janner of Braunstone, a British politician, barrister and writer, Member of Parliament for Leicester West (1970-1997)
Alexander Ewan Fenton (1929-2006), Scottish professional footballer
David Ewan McArtney (1950-2013), New Zealand musician and songwriter
David Ewan Marr (b. 1947), Australian journalist, author, and progressive political and social commentator
William Ewan Cameron (1842-1927), American politician, Governor of Virginia (1882-1886)
George Ewan McCraney (1868-1921), Canadian lawyer and politician, member of the Canadian House of Commons
Mr. Ewan Gordon Cameron MacPherson M.B.E., British Chairman for Royal Yachting Association Scotland, was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire on 8th June 2018, for voluntary service to Sailing 7

The Ewan Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Audaciter
Motto Translation: Boldly

Citations +

Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 4th April 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/emma-eugenia
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
"Birthday and New Year Honours Lists (1940 to 2019)." Issue 62310, 4 July 2019 | London Gazette, The Gazette, June 2018, https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/62310/supplement/B1