2000
#48
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 342,237
First available Census row
Per 100,000 126.87
Common Last name
Evans
A patronymic surname derived from the given name Evan, meaning "the son of Evan" in Welsh.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 393,892 Americans carry the last name Evans. That puts it at #54 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 114.92 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 870 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Evans surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Evans with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
394K
1 in 870
Census rank
#54
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
114.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
343K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 343,493 bearers of the surname Evans in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 114.92 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 54th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Evans, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.7%. The next largest groups are Black (25.0%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Evans
The surname Evans is of Welsh origin, derived from the personal name Iefan, which is the Welsh form of John. It is believed to have originated in the early Middle Ages, around the 12th or 13th century, in various parts of Wales.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Black Book of St. David's, a medieval manuscript from the 13th century, which mentions an individual named Ieuan ab Iorwerth. The name Ieuan, later anglicized as Evan or Evans, became a common patronymic surname in Wales, meaning "son of Evan."
The surname Evans is also linked to several place names in Wales, such as Evanstown in Flintshire and Evanslough in Radnorshire. These place names likely derived from individuals bearing the surname Evans who lived or owned land in those areas.
Among the notable individuals with the surname Evans throughout history are:
1. Griffith Evans (c. 1670-1737), a Welsh clergyman and author known for his work "A Map of Universal History."
2. Sir John Evans (1823-1908), a British archaeologist and numismatist, known for his contributions to the study of ancient stone tools and coins.
3. Mary Ann Evans (1819-1880), better known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist renowned for works such as "Middlemarch" and "The Mill on the Floss."
4. William Evans (1790-1872), a Welsh Baptist minister and educator, who played a significant role in the establishment of the Baptist College in Haverfordwest.
5. Sir John Evans (1928-2011), a British entrepreneur and philanthropist, known for founding and leading the successful retail chain Next.
The surname Evans has a rich history rooted in the Welsh culture and language. Over time, it has spread beyond Wales to other parts of the United Kingdom and beyond, carried by individuals of Welsh descent or those who adopted the name for various reasons.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Evans
Among Census respondents with the surname Evans, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.7%. The next largest groups are Black (25.0%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Evans bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Evans surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White65.7% · 225,506
- Black or African American25.0% · 85,916
- Two or more races4.6% · 15,774
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 11,773
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 2,331
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 2,193
Timeline
Historical Census data for Evans
Evans appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#53
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 355,593
+13,356 bearers (+3.9%)
Per 100,000 120.55
Rank movement Down 5 places
2020
#54
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 343,493
-12,100 bearers (-3.4%)
Per 100,000 114.92
Rank movement Down 1 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #48 | 342,237 | 126.87 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #53 | 355,593 | 120.55 | +13,356 bearers (+3.9%) | Down 5 places |
| 2020 | #54 | 343,493 | 114.92 | -12,100 bearers (-3.4%) | Down 1 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Evans surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #53 | #54 | -1.9% |
| Count | 355,593 | 343,493 | -3.4% |
| Per 100K | 120.55 | 114.92 | -4.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Evans bearers went from 355,593 to 343,493 (-3.4% change). The surname moved down 1 positions in the national ranking, going from #53 to #54.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Evans
FAQ
Evans surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Evans?
Name Census estimates that about 393,892 living Americans carry the surname Evans. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 870 residents.
How common is Evans?
Evans ranks #54 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 114.92 per 100,000 residents, which is about 115 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 343,493 people with the surname Evans. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (393,892), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 114.92 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 114.92 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 115 of them to have the surname Evans.
Has Evans become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Evans went from 355,593 recorded bearers to 343,493. That is a decrease of 12,100 (-3.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #53 to #54.
What does the Census say about the background of Evans?
Among Census respondents with the surname Evans, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.7%. The next largest groups are Black (25.0%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Evans in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.7% (225,506 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Evans appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (65.7%), Black (25.0%), Two or More Races (4.6%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Evans (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Evans mean?
A patronymic surname derived from the given name Evan, meaning "the son of Evan" in Welsh. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Evans (114.92 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Evans?
Want to know how many people are called Evans? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.