Show ContentsEwers History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Ewers family

The surname Ewers was first found in Ayrshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Inbhir Àir), formerly a county in the southwestern Strathclyde region of Scotland, that today makes up the Council Areas of South, East, and North Ayrshire.

One of the first records of the name was Adam Urri who appears as burgess of Irvine in 1260 and Huwe Urry of Ayrshire who rendered homage to King Edward I of England in his brief intrusion into Scotland in 1296. Reginald Urry held land in Irvine in 1323 and William Urri resigned the lands of Fulton in 1409. 1

Another branch of the family was found in the Fetteresso parish, Kincardineshire and for the most part, these names included "de" denoting "of." Hugh de Urre swore fealty at St. John of Perth and later with a different spelling as Hugh Uny at Forfar, 1296. 1 This latter entry is presumably another person rendering homage to King Edward I.

Further south in England where the Hurry, Hurrey and Hurrie variants tends to more popular, early records were typically found in the Latin form: Urrius de la haie c.1148 in Herefordshire; Walter, Herueus Urri in the Curia Regis Rolls for Surrey in 1208 and in the Pipe Rolls for Norfolk in 1209; Gilbert Uri in the Curia Regis Rolls for Lincolnshire in 1214; Alan Hurry in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1219; Geoffrey Orry in the Liber Feodorum for Shropshire in 1235; and later Walter Horry for the Isle of Wight in 1290; and John Ourry in 1297. 2

Early History of the Ewers family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ewers research. Another 180 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1279, 1300, 1302, 1366, 1387, 1619, 1650, 1666, 1677, 1715, 1778 and 1857 are included under the topic Early Ewers History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ewers Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Urie, Ure, Urey, Hurry, Hurrie, Horrey, Orrey and many more.

Early Notables of the Ewers family

Notable amongst the family at this time was

  • Isaac Ewer, Ewers or Ewres (died c.1650), was an English soldier probably born in Essex, one of the Regicides of King Charles I of England who later took part in the storming of Drogheda, Ireland and...

Ewers Ranking

In the United States, the name Ewers is the 9,708th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 3


United States Ewers migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Ewers Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Johannes Ewers, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1752 4
Ewers Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • M Franziska Ewers, who arrived in America in 1836 4
  • Bern Ewers, who landed in America in 1847 4
  • Carolina Ewers, who arrived in New York, NY in 1850 4

Australia Ewers migration to Australia +

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

Ewers Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • William Ewers, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Princess Royal" in 1848 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Ewers (post 1700) +

  • Randy Ewers (b. 1968), American politician, Mayor of Ocala, Florida
  • John Canfield Ewers (1909-1997), American ethnologist and museum curator
  • Charles Ewers, American politician, U.S. Consul in Windsor, 1884 6
  • John K. Ewers (1904-1978), Australian novelist, poet, schoolteacher and short story writer from Western Australia
  • Marisa Ewers, German football midfielder
  • Oberleutnant Walter Ewers (1892-1918), German World War I flying ace credited with eight aerial victories, recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern
  • Raymond Boultwood "Ray" Ewers (1917-1998), Australian sculptor, best known for his sculpture Australian Serviceman in the Australian War Memorial, Melbourne
  • Gustav Ewers (1779-1830), German legal historian


The Ewers 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: Sans tache
Motto Translation: Without stain.


  1. Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
  2. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  3. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  4. 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)
  5. State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) PRINCESS ROYAL 1848. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1848PrincessRoyal.htm
  6. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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