Evans History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms 

Origins Available: 
  Wales 
  Ireland 


The surname Evans 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 Evans family

The surname Evans 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 Evans family

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

Evans Spelling Variations

There are relatively few surnames native to Wales, but they have an inordinately large number of spelling variations. Early variations of Welsh surnames can be explained by the fact that very few people in the early Middle Ages were literate. Priests and the few other literate people were responsible for recording names in official documents. And because most people could not specific how to properly record their names it was up to the individual recorder of that time to determine how a spoken name should be recorded. Variations due to the imprecise or improper recording of a name continued later in history when names originally composed in the Brythonic Celtic, language of Wales, known by natives as Cymraeg, were transliterated into English. Welsh names that were documented in English often changed dramatically since the native language of Wales, which was highly inflected, did not copy well. Occasionally, however, spelling variations were carried out according to an individual's specific design: a branch loyalty within the family, a religious adherence, or even patriotic affiliations could be indicated by minor variations. The spelling variations of the name Evans have included Evans, Evan, Evance, Evands, Evanson, Evason, Evens, Evenson and many more.

Early Notables of the Evans family

Prominent amongst the family during the late Middle Ages was

Evans World Ranking

In the United States, the name Evans is the 48th most popular surname with an estimated 350,667 people with that name. 6 However, in Canada, the name Evans is ranked the 96th most popular surname with an estimated 28,449 people with that name. 7 And in Newfoundland, Canada, the name Evans is the 89th popular surname with an estimated 338 people with that name. 8 France ranks Evans as 7,462nd with 1,000 - 1,500 people. 9 Australia ranks Evans as 22nd with 52,100 people. 10 New Zealand ranks Evans as 46th with 5,361 people. 11 The United Kingdom ranks Evans as 7th with 181,541 people. 12

Migration of the Evans family to Ireland

Some of the Evans 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.


Evans migration to the United States +

North America in the 1800s and 1900s saw the arrival of many Welsh people hoping to share in the wealth of land, work, and freedom that they felt North America held. Those who made the journey often attained those expectations, but only through an enormous amount of hard work, perseverance, and often a bout of good luck. These immigrants helped contribute to the growth of industry, commerce, and culture of both Canada and the United States. Discovered in the immigration and passenger lists were a number of people bearing the name Evans:

Evans Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
Evans Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
Evans Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
Evans Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Evans migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Evans Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
Evans Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
Evans Settlers in Canada in the 20th Century

Evans migration to Australia +

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

Evans Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Evans 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:

Evans Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Evans migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 19
Evans Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Contemporary Notables of the name Evans (post 1700) +


Suggested Readings for the name Evans +
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