Evanson History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Wales
Ireland

The surname Evanson 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 Evanson family

The surname Evanson 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 Evanson family

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

Evanson Spelling Variations

Welsh surnames are relatively few in number, but they have an inordinately large number of spelling variations. There are many factors that explain the preponderance of Welsh variants, but the earliest is found during the Middle Ages when Welsh surnames came into use. Scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, which often resulted in a single person's name being inconsistently recorded over his lifetime. The transliteration of Welsh names into English also accounts for many of the spelling variations: the unique Brythonic Celtic language of the Welsh had many sounds the English language was incapable of accurately reproducing. It was also common for members of a same surname to change their names slightly, in order to signify a branch loyalty within the family, a religious adherence, or even patriotic affiliations. For all of these reasons, the many spelling variations of particular Welsh names are very important. The surname Evanson has occasionally been spelled Evans, Evan, Evance, Evands, Evanson, Evason, Evens, Evenson and many more.

Early Notables of the Evanson 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 Evanson Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Evanson family to Ireland

Some of the Evanson 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.

Evanson migration to Australia +

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

Evanson Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Richard J. Evanson, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Bolton" in 1849 6

Contemporary Notables of the name Evanson (post 1700) +

Christof Evanson, American politician, Member of Minnesota State House of Representatives 1st District, 1878 7

Historic Events for the Evanson family +

HMS Repulse

Mr. Roland Evanson, British Able Bodied Seaman, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and survived the sinking 8

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)
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The BOLTON 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Bolton.htm
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 7) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html