Contents [hide]

Evan History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Evan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Netherlands
Wales
Ireland

The surname Evan 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 Evan family

The surname Evan 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 Evan family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Evan 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 Evan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Evan 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 Evan have included Evans, Evan, Evance, Evands, Evanson, Evason, Evens, Evenson and many more.

Early Notables of the Evan 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), an English antiquary, vicar of New Windsor
William Evans (d. 1720?), a Welsh Presbyterian minister
John Evans (1693?-1734?), an English? actor who confined his performances to Ireland

Evan Ranking

In the United States, the name Evan is the 8,302^nd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 6

Migration of the Evan family to Ireland

Some of the Evan 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.

Evan migration to the United States +

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 Evan were found:

Evan Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Tompson Evan, who arrived in Virginia in 1638 7
Richard Evan, who arrived in Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1645 7
Humph Evan, who arrived in Virginia in 1653 7
Robert Evan, who landed in Maryland in 1668 7
Foulke Evan, who landed in Maryland or Virginia in 1671 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Evan Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Hugh Evan, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1710 7
Mary Evan, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1710 7
Samuel Evan, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1710 7
Margaret Evan, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1711 7
Thomas Evan, who arrived in America in 1765 7

Evan Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Owen Evan, who landed in Newport, Rhode Island in 1811 7
David E Evan, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1842 7
Thedore Evan, who landed in Mobile, Ala in 1849 7

Evan migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Evan Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mr. Bolton Evan U.E. who settled in Marysburgh [Prince Edward County], Ontario c. 1784 8

Evan migration to Australia +

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

Evan Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Jenkin Evan, Welsh convict who was convicted in Glamorgan, Glamorganshire, Wales for 7 years, transported aboard the "Countess of Harcourt" on 29th April 1828, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 9
David Evan, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Glen Huntley" in 1849 10
Gwenny Evan, aged 19, a servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1855 aboard the ship "Velocity"

Contemporary Notables of the name Evan (post 1700) +

John Evan, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Pennsylvania, 2008 11
George Evan Jr., American Republican politician, Candidate for Pennsylvania State House of Representatives from Allegheny County 14th District, 1954 11
Mark Evan Cerny (b. 1964), American video game designer, programmer, producer, and media proprietor
Kyle Evan Searles (b. 1985), American actor best known for his roles on 7th Heaven, The George Lopez Show and Dawson's Creek
Hal Evan Sutton (b. 1958), American professional golfer, currently playing on the PGA Tour Champions
William Evan Sanders (1919-2021), American Episcopalian prelate, 8th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee from 1977 to 1985, and first bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee from 1985 to 1992
Emmett Evan Van Heflin (1910-1971), born Emmett Evan Heflin Jr., an American Academy Award winning film and theater actor, best known for his roles in Shane (1953), 3:10 to Yuma (1957), and Gunman's Walk (1958).
James Evan Gattis (b. 1986), American former professional baseball designated hitter and catcher
Quentin Evan Kenihan (1975-2018), Australian disability advocate, comedian and actor
John Evan Stambaugh (1939-1990), American classical scholar and professor at Williams College from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

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)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 19th April 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/countess-of-harcourt
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The GLEN HUNTLEY 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849GlenHuntly.htm
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 16) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html