Evison History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Wales
Ireland

The surname Evison 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 Evison family

The surname Evison 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 Evison family

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

Evison Spelling Variations

Although there are comparatively few Welsh surnames, they have a great many spelling variations. Variations of Welsh names began almost immediately after their acceptance within Welsh society. In the Middle Ages, it was up to priests and the few other people that recorded names in official documents to decide how to spell the names that they heard. Variations that occurred because of improper recording increased dramatically as the names were later transliterated into English. The Brythonic Celtic language of Wales, known by natives as Cymraeg, featured many highly inflected sounds that could not be properly captured by the English language. 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 were all indicated by the particular variation of one's name. The spelling variations of the name Evison have included Evans, Evan, Evance, Evands, Evanson, Evason, Evens, Evenson and many more.

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

Migration of the Evison family to Ireland

Some of the Evison 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.

Evison migration to Australia +

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

Evison Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. William Evison, English convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for life, transported aboard the "Baring" in December 1818, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 6
Mr. William Evison, English convict who was convicted in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England for life, transported aboard the "Elphinstone" on 27th May 1837, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 7
Mr. James Evison, (b. 1818), aged 20, English farm servant who was convicted in Stafford, Staffordshire, England for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Earl Grey" on 27th July 1838, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1882 8
Miss Martha Evison who was convicted in Stafford, Staffordshire, England for 10 years, transported aboard the "Cadet" on 10th November 1848, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 9

Contemporary Notables of the name Evison (post 1700) +

Kathy Evison (b. 1963), American actress, best known for her role as Lonnie Henderson in season 2 and 3 of seaQuest DSV
Jonathan Evison (b. 1968), American novelist, best known for his novels All About Lulu, West of Here, and The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving
F.F. Evison, New Zealand's first professor of geophysics, eponym of the Evison Glacier, Antarctica
Raymond J. Evison OBE, VMH (b. 1945), English nurseryman, lecturer, author and photographer
Dame Helen June Patricia "Pat" Evison DBE (1924-2010), New Zealand actress, winner of the Australian Film Institute Award in 1979
Peter Evison (b. 1964), English darts player, winner of the 1989 Winmau World Masters and the 1996 World Matchplay

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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/baring
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 18th March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/elphinstone
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 17th August 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-grey
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 17th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/cadet/