The surname Evans derives from the first name Evan, or Ewan. The suffix ‘-s’ means ‘dependant of’; so Evans means ‘son or dependant of Evan’. Evan, or Ewan, is the Welsh name for John and was originally loan, which is now more common in Wales in the form of lean (pronounced Yian, to rhyme with ‘iron’). Ewan is now more common as a Scots first name, deriving from the original John by way of Scots Gaelic.

It is also possible that some examples of the widespread and historic Welsh name Owen could be derived from variants of this source (it usually represents a quite separate tradition). Indisputably certain is the fact that the Welsh name Jones (i.e. ‘son of John-Johnson-Jones’) is equivalent to Evans. Thus two of the most common Welsh names, Jones and Evans, originate from the name John.

The first name John originates from the Hebrew Jochanaan, which means ‘God is gracious’. The Latin form of this name was Johannes, and in this form it was brought back to Central Europe by the Crusaders. Here it became popular in many countries, each forming their own variation. Thus John is Johan or Hans in Germany, and Jean in France. The name was largely popular because of its Biblical use-with John the Baptist, and St John the Divine, author of the Book of Revelations.

In rare instances the surname Evan(s) represents a substitute for Owen(s) derived from the Latin first name Eugenius (now found in the form Eugene). Eugenius originally meant ‘high-born’.

There are many variations of the surname Evans-the most common being Evens, Evins, Heaven, Heavens, Evance and Evanson.

The earliest references in the records to the name Evans came in the 1568 Subsidy Rolls. Here the Rolls for Suffolk list one John Evans. This reference is late compared with most other popular names, because the name Evans only evolved as such about the year 1500.

The Welsh archaeologist, Sir Arthur Evans (1851—1941), is famed for his excavations at Knossos on Crete which uncovered the Minoan civilisation. This provided the vital missing link between Ancient Egypt and the rise of Ancient Greece.

The Evanses are physical achievers. The Olympic record for 400 metres of 43.86 seconds has stood since 1968 and was achieved by Lee Edward Evans of the US. On the other hand, the world record for high kicks has stood since 1939 at 8,005 kicks in 4 hours 40 minutes. It was set by Veronica Evans at the old Pathétone Studios in Wardour Street, London.

The Evans Cup is the name of the Major Public Schools squash competition.

Edward Evans was one of the unfortunate victims of the notorious ‘Moors Murderers’ (1963—5), Ian Brady and Myra Hindley; while Timothy John Evans was hanged in 1950 for his wife’s murder. The latter lived at 10 Rillington Place with mass-murderer and necrophiliac, John Christie. Later Christie was arrested and charged with Mrs Evans’ murder together with over a dozen others, mostly of prostitutes. Controversy still ranges as to whether Evans was in fact hanged as an innocent man. The case had much to do with the abolition of capital punishment in the UK.

There are towns called Evanton and Evans Mead in the United Kingdom. Australia and New Zealand have Evansdales while Canada has an Evansburg and an Evansville. This latter town name is common in the United States where there are 6 out of a total of 13 Evans-related towns and cities. Bermuda and New Zealand have Evans Bays.

With about 276,000 namesakes Evans is the 7th most popular surname in England and Wales. (The name is not common enough throughout Scotland to be counted separately.) Evans is notably popular in and around Cardiff where an estimated one in about 50 families bears the name. In descending numerical order Birmingham, Liverpool and Coventry are other Evans strongholds. Around the world Evans’s are most common in Canberra (one in 535 families), Wellington (one in 553) and Sydney (one in 574). The United States has more Evans’s than the entire population of Newcastle-an estimated total of just under 361,000 makes this their 45th most popular surname.