Evans is a male name and surname of Welsh, and possibly Cornish, origin. Within

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

it is the fifth most common surname and is the tenth most common in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Within the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, it is ranked as the 48th-most common surname. The male name Evans in Greek is Evangelos.

Origin

Evans is of Welsh origin. In its anglicised form, the name means "son of Evan". Regarding its Welsh roots, it is a derivative of the name ''Ifan'', a cognate of

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

. In the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). Historically, it has ...

, the ''f'' produces the ''v'' sound; ''Ifan'' (''Ivan'') became ''Evan''. Another school of thought is that ‘Evan’ ( Yvain, Yvainne) is the latinised Norman-French derivation of ‘Owain’. An example of this is ‘Yvain des Galles’ , better known as ‘Owain Llawgoch’ in his native Wales. In the Welsh language the patronymic "ab Evan" resulted in the anglicized surname " Bevan", which is also common in Wales. Evans is a popular name in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, United States of America, Canada, and Australia. The similarity to the Slavic name

Ivan Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgari ...

is not accidental, as it is also a cognate of John.

Notable persons named Evans

* See List of people with surname Evans

References

{{reflist English-language surnames Surnames of Welsh origin Anglo-Cornish surnames Anglicised Welsh-language surnames Welsh-language surnames Patronymic surnames