Ewan is an

anglicisation Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...

of the

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

name Eòghann. It is possibly a derivative of the Pictish name, ''Vuen'' (or 'Wen'), "The Warrior" or "born of the mountain". It is most common as a

male Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization. A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to ...

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It is also, less commonly, a surname, especially among the

Scottish Clans A Scottish clan (from Goidelic languages, Gaelic , literally 'children', more broadly 'kindred') is a kinship group among the Scottish people. Clans give a sense of shared identity and descent to members, and in modern times have an official ...

, examples of variation in spelling include McEwan’s beer and

MacEwan University , mottoeng = , type = Public University , established = , closed = , founder = , parent = , academic_affiliations = AUCC, ACCC, AACTI ...

. Owain is the predominant

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

spelling of the name (or Owen when Anglicized), but Iwan and Iuan are also found, as they are in Cornish. Ouen can be considered the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally ** Breton people ** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Ga ...

spelling of the name. Another meaning of these could mean

Yew Tree Yew is a common name given to various species of trees. It is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Taxus'': * European yew or common yew (''Taxus baccata'') * Pacific yew or western yew (''Taxus br ...

or ‘well born’ in

Celtic languages The Celtic languages ( usually , but sometimes ) are a group of related languages descended from Proto-Celtic. They form a branch of the Indo-European language family. The term "Celtic" was first used to describe this language group by Edward ...

. Ewan is also a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word meaning

Bacchus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...

. Ewan is sometimes incorrectly seen as a cognate to John and its variations. Ewen or Ewan is also a Scottish surname, as in Clan MacEwen.

People with the given name

In the arts and media

Ewan Christian Ewan Christian (1814–1895) was a British architect. He is most frequently noted for the restorations of Southwell Minster and Carlisle Cathedral, and the design of the National Portrait Gallery. He was Architect to the Ecclesiastical Commiss ...

(1814–1895), British architect *

Ewan MacColl James Henry Miller (25 January 1915 – 22 October 1989), better known by his stage name Ewan MacColl, was a folk singer-songwriter, folk song collector, labour activist and actor. Born in England to Scottish parents, he is known as one of the ...

(1915–1989), British folk singer-songwriter * Ewan McGregor (born 1971), Scottish actor *

Ewan Mitchell Ewan Robert Mitchell is an English actor. He is known for his roles in the ITV period drama ''The Halcyon'' (2017), the medieval series ''The Last Kingdom'' (2017–2022), the BBC war drama '' World on Fire'' (2019–), and the HBO fantasy se ...

(born 1997), English actor * Ewan Stewart (born 1957), Scottish actor

In sports

Ewan MacDonald Ewan MacDonald (born 17 November 1975 in Inverness, Scotland) is a Scottish curler. Representing Scotland, he is a three-time World Champion, playing second for Hammy McMillan in 1999 and playing third for David Murdoch in 2006 and 2009. He ...

(born 1975), Scottish curler * Ewan McGrady, Australian rugby league footballer *

Ewan Thompson Ewan Thompson (born 29 March 1977) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Richmond in the Australian Football League (AFL) in 1997. He was recruited from the Northern Knights in the TAC Cup The NAB League Boys (also referred ...

(born 1977), Australian (Australian rules) footballer

In other fields

* Ewan Birney (born 1972), British bioinformatician *

Ewan Anderson Ewan William Anderson (born 28 March 1938) is an English academic expert on geopolitics, economic and social geography. He is also a former English first-class cricketer who played all his games for Oxford University Cricket Club; and has exhibi ...

(born 1938), expert on geopolitics, economic and social geography

Characters

*Ewan, a character from the TV series ''

Merlin Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...

'' Season 1 Episode 2 *Ewan O'Hara, Juliet O'Hara's brother on the TV series ''

Psych ''Psych'' is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks for USA Network. The series stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened observ ...

'' *Ewan, a guard in the book ''The Wizard's Child'' *Ewan Doherty, Head of English in

Teachers A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

, a UK Channel 4 show *Ewan the Dream Sheep, a popular baby sleeping toy *Ewan Cameron, a minor character in Dragonfly in Amber, second book in the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon *Ewan Zschoch

References