Evans Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Evans Family History

Evans Family History

The ancient origin of the name Evans was found in the irishsurnames.com archives.

Surnames developed a wide number of variants over the centuries. Many different spelling variations of the same name can be traced back to a single original root. Also, when a bearer of a name emigrated from Ireland it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books upon arrival at their new location. Some names have dozens of spelling variations. Some Surnames were also altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically, by their sound, and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another. This was especially so in Ireland where most Gaelic names were 'anglicized' at some stage.

Variants of the name Evans include Evanson and Evance. Meaning 'well born one', this is a Welsh baptismal name. The first form of the name was Jevon, then Yevan and lastly and permanently Evan. This name is of Welsh Descent spreading to England, Ireland and Scotland in early times, and is found in many mediaeval manuscripts throughout the above countries. Examples of such are a David Evans who was recorded in the ancient 'Calendar of Proceedings' in Chancery in the thirteenth century, and in 1695 an Act of Parliament was passed to allow Evan MacGregor, Merchant in Edinburgh, to retain his surname. A Howell Yevan was recorded in the 'Rolls of Parliament', in the thirteenth century. In Scotland Evans is sometimes changed to Ewan. In Ireland this name is usually of immigrant origin but some members of the Gaelic O'hEimhin Sept of Ormond also anglicized their native name as Evans. This Gaelic name means 'swift'.The Evans family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including Evans descendants.