Ewing
A surname usually taken from the old personal name Ewan/Ewen, meaning it began as “son of Ewan” rather than from the word “wing.”
The #1,049 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 9,268 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Most evidence points to Ewing as a patronymic surname built on the medieval personal name Ewan or Ewen. That name is commonly connected with older Celtic forms such as Welsh Evan and Gaelic equivalents, and in some English sources it is also treated as a Saxon/Old English personal name. The spelling with -g- is usually explained as excrescent, added later and not part of the original name.
History
The surname is found early in English records and was noted by 19th-century writers as occurring in Domesday under a form like Euing. It appears especially in Scotland and northern England, and later became established in Ulster as well. Variant forms such as Ewens, Ewins, and Euing reflect the same underlying personal name.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Several older authorities specifically remark that the -g in Ewing looks decorative or intrusive, much like the added ending in surnames such as Jennings.
From the historical record
“EWER. See Ure. EWING. Euing, probably a Saxon, oc- curs in Domesday. EXALL. Two parishes in co. Warwick. (Exhall.) EXCELL. See Exall. EXETER. The chief town of Devon- shire. A Baldwin de Exeter was a tenant in chief in that county at the compilation of Domesday.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom