Ivan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Wales
Ireland

The surname Ivan is a patronymic surname created from the Welsh personal name Lefan, or Evan, which is a cognate of the personal name John. 1 2

Early Origins of the Ivan family

The surname Ivan was first found in Herefordshire.

"Exceedingly numerous in North and South Wales and in the adjacent English counties of Shropshire and Monmouth. Thence it has spread, but in rapidly diminishing numbers to the midland counties and to the south - west of England. It is absent or singularly rare in the northern counties, a line from the Humber to the Mersey sharply defining its northward extension. Not one of the coast counties, from Norfolk round to the borders of Devon, is represented in my list." 3

Early records of the family are scarce, but we did find Howell ap Yevan in the Rolls of Parliament and David ap Evan in the Calendar of Proceedings in Chancery, temp. Elizabeth I. 4

Later, John Evens was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Suffolk in 1568 and John Evans was a Freeman of York in 1679. Jaraes Hevens was found in Suffolk in 1674. 5

Early History of the Ivan family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ivan research. Another 126 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1050, 1080, 1607, 1630, 1632, 1645, 1660, 1679, 1680, 1693, 1702, 1715, 1720, 1723, 1734, 1749, 1778, 1808, 1811, 1817, 1821, 1849 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Ivan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ivan Spelling Variations

The Welsh have an extremely large amount of spelling variations of their native surnames to their credit. It was up to the priest or the scribe taking the official records to determine how the spoken name was to be made literal. As time progressed, the old Brythonic names of Wales were recorded in English, which was especially problematic since the English language had extreme difficulty recording the highly inflected sounds of Cymraeg. Spelling variations were, however, also carried out according to an individual's design: a branch loyalty within the family, a religious adherence, or even patriotic affiliations could be indicated by spelling variations of one's name. The spelling variations of the name Ivan have included Evans, Evan, Evance, Evands, Evanson, Evason, Evens, Evenson and many more.

Early Notables of the Ivan family

Prominent amongst the family during the late Middle Ages was Rhirid Flaith a descendant in the Evans line about 1080; Arise Evans (or Rhys or Rice Evans) (1607-1660), a Welsh prophet and fanatic; Saint Philip Evans (1645-1679), Welsh priest, declared guilty of treason and executed, one of The Forty Martyrs of England and Wales; George Evans, D.D. (1630?-1702)...
Another 57 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Ivan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Ivan family to Ireland

Some of the Ivan family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 110 words (8 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Ivan family

Many Welsh families joined their Scottish and Irish neighbors during the late 1800s and early 1900s in seeking refuge in North America. Like the Irish and Scottish, many Welsh anxiously awaited the work, freedom, and opportunities that they believed lay in North America. Those who did journey over to the United States and what became known as Canada often realized those dreams, but only through much toil and perseverance. Whenever and however these Welsh immigrants arrived in North America, they were instrumental in the creation of the industry, commerce, and cultural heritage within those two developing nations. In the immigration and passenger lists a number of early immigrants bearing the name Ivan were found: Stephen Evan who settled in Philadelphia in 1683 with his wife and two children; Anne, Christopher, Clement, Daniel, Edward, Elizabeth, Francis, Griffin, George, Henry, James, John, Joan, Laurence, Margaret, Mary, Richard, Robert, Simon, Thomas, William Evans, who all settled in Virginia between 1623 and 1640.

Contemporary Notables of the name Ivan (post 1700) +

Anthony Ivan Holden (1947-2023), English writer, broadcaster and literary critic
Jerry Ivan Allison (1939-2022), American musician, best known as the drummer for The Crickets and co-writer of their hits "That'll Be the Day" and "Peggy Sue", recorded with Buddy Holly, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012
John Ivan Simon (1925-2019), American author and literary, theater, and film critic
Herbert Ivan Babbage (1875-1916), New Zealand artist
Albert Ivan Beggs, American politician, U.S. Consular Agent in Salaverry, 1947 6
Tracey Ivan Moore (1941-2018), former English cricketer from Ingham, Norfolk who played for Norfolk, Minor Counties North and Minor Counties East
Daniel Ivan Hicks (1941-2016), American singer-songwriter
Newton Ivan Steers Jr. (1917-1993), American Republican politician, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland (1977-1979) 7
Elmer Ivan Applegate (1867-1949), American botanist, he wrote 12 botanical names for plant species
Blessed Ivan Merz (1896-1928), Croatian Catholic lay activist

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. Print
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 29) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2014, December 14) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html