Contents [hide]

Ewing History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Motto Suggested Reading Citations

Ewing History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland
Scotland
England

The Dalriadan clans of ancient Scotland spawned the ancestors of the Ewing family. Their name comes from the Gaelic personal name Eógann, which comes from the Latin name, Eugenius, which means well born. Ewing 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 Ewing 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 Ewing family

The surname Ewing 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 Ewing family

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

Ewing Spelling Variations

The medieval practice of spelling according to sound and repeated translation between Gaelic and English created many spelling variations of the same name. Ewing has been recorded as Ewing, Ewin, Ewen, Ewans, Ewens, Eugene, Ewan and many more.

Early Notables of the Ewing family

Notable amongst the family at this time was

John Ewing of Monkmyer

Ewing Ranking

In the United States, the name Ewing is the 852^nd most popular surname with an estimated 34,818 people with that name. 4

Migration of the Ewing family to Ireland

Some of the Ewing 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.

Ewing migration to the United States +

Descendents of Dalriadan-Scottish families still populate many communities across North America. They are particularly common in Canada, since many went north as United Empire Loyalists at the time of the American War of Independence. Much later, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the highland games and Clan societies that now dot North America sprang up, allowing many Scots to recover their lost national heritage. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Ewing, or a variant listed above:

Ewing Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Thomas Ewing, who arrived in Long Island in 1718 5
Alex Ewing, who arrived in Bermuda in 1787 5

Ewing Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Ewing, who landed in America in 1803 5
William Ewing, who arrived in America in 1809 5
William Ewing, aged 25, who arrived in Virginia in 1812 5
Alexander D Ewing, who landed in New York, NY in 1815 5
Christiana Ewing, aged 24, who arrived in New York, NY in 1822 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Ewing migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Ewing Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

James, Ewing Sr., who landed in Canada in 1828
Samuel Ewing, aged 22, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "William" in 1834
Peter Ewing, who landed in Montreal in 1840

Ewing migration to Australia +

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

Ewing Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Walter Ewing, (b. 1798), aged 28, Scottish clerk who was convicted in Edinburgh, Scotland for life for forgery, transported aboard the "England"on 28th April 1826, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 6
William Ewing, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Navarino" in 1837 7
Miss Rachael Ewing, English convict who was convicted in Lancaster, Lancashire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Emma Eugenia" on 16th November 1841, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8
Samuel Ewing, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Cromwell" in 1849 9
Andrew Ewing, Scottish convict from Glasgow, who was transported aboard the "Adelaide" on April 16, 1855, settling in Western Australia 10
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Ewing migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Ewing Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. William Ewing, Scottish settler travelling from Glasgow aboard the ship "Sevilla" arriving in Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 2nd December 1859 11

Contemporary Notables of the name Ewing (post 1700) +

Maria Louise Ewing (1950-2022), American opera singer who sang both soprano and mezzo-soprano roles, born in Detroit, Michigan
Russ Ewing (1923-2019), American broadcast journalist in Chicago from 1967 to the late 1990s
William Buckingham "Buck" Ewing (1859-1906), American Hall of Fame baseball player and manager
Maurice Ewing (1906-1974), American geophysicist, who taught at Columbia University (1944-74)
Thomas Ewing (1789-1871), American statesman who represented Ohio in the U.S. Senate (1831-37)
William Maurice Ewing (b. 1906), American marine geologist
Winifred Margaret "Winnie" Ewing FRSA (1929-2023), née Woodburn, a Scottish politician, lawyer and figure within the independence movement who served as President of the Scottish National Party from 1987 to 2005
Harry Ewing, Scottish politician, member of the UK Parliament, made Lord Ewing of Kirkford
Sir James Alfred Ewing (1855-1935), Scottish engineer and physicist
Sir Alexander Ewing (1892-1980), Professor of Audiology and Education of the Deaf at University of Manchester
... (Another 4 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Ewing family +

Hillcrest Coal Mine

Mr. James Ewing (1890-1914), American Company Man from Chicago, Illinois, United States who worked in the Hillcrest Coal Mine, Alberta, Canada and died in the mine collapse 12

St. Francis Dam

Mrs. Appia Jane Ewing, (nee Utterback), American resident in Santa Clarita killed when the St. Francis Dam failed and flooded the area in 1928

The Ewing 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)
"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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th April 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/england
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) NAVARINO 1837. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1837Navarino.htm
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 30th March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/emma-eugenia
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) CROMWELL 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Cromwell.htm
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2014, November 17) Adelaide voyage to Western Australia, Australia in 1855 with 261 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/adelaide/1855
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
List Of Miners - Hillcrest Mine Disaster Data. (Retrieved 2014, June 24) . Retrieved from http://www.hillcrestminedisaster.com/data/index.php?title=List_Of_Miners