Ewing last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Ewing is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Ewing.

Meaning of Ewing

From the Old English for "friend" or "companion," or referring to someone from the parish of Ewan in Scotland.

Ewing, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Ewing surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ewing in America

Ewing is the 1049th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ewing surname appeared 33,314 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 11 people would have the surname Ewing.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ewing to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 1049 969 7.93%
Count 33,314 32,925 1.17%
Proportion per 100k 11.29 12.21 -7.83%

The history of the last name Ewing

The surname Ewing has its roots in Scotland, dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have originated from the Scottish Gaelic personal name EĆ³gann, which means "well-born" or "born of the yew tree." The name may have also been derived from the Old English word "ewing," meaning "ewe" or "female sheep."

Early records show that the Ewing family was prominent in the Scottish Borders region and Lanarkshire. The name is found in the Black Book of Paisley, a 16th-century manuscript that records land transactions and legal disputes in the area around Paisley Abbey.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is John Ewing, who was born in Scotland in the late 16th century and later emigrated to Ireland. He is considered the progenitor of many Ewing families in both Ireland and America.

The Ewing surname is also linked to several place names in Scotland, such as Ewingston in East Ayrshire and Ewing's Hill in Dumfries and Galloway. These place names likely derived from the Ewing family's presence and influence in those areas.

Notable individuals with the Ewing surname include:

  1. James Ewing (1736-1806), an American Revolutionary War soldier and politician from Pennsylvania.
  2. Thomas Ewing (1789-1871), an American politician who served as the Secretary of the Treasury under President William Henry Harrison and the first Secretary of the Interior under President Zachary Taylor.
  3. Hugh Ewing (1826-1905), an American Baptist minister and educator who served as the president of several universities, including the University of Richmond.
  4. Adlai Ewing Stevenson (1835-1914), an American politician and statesman who served as the 23rd Vice President of the United States under President Grover Cleveland.
  5. Juliana Ewing (1841-1885), an English children's writer and novelist, best known for her works "Jackanapes" and "The Brownies."

While the Ewing surname has a strong Scottish heritage, it has since spread worldwide, with Ewing families found in many countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ewing

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Ewing.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Ewing was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 76.28% 25,412
Non-Hispanic Black Only 17.89% 5,960
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.62% 207
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.43% 143
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 2.22% 740
Hispanic Origin 2.57% 856

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Ewing has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 76.28% 78.68% -3.10%
Black 17.89% 17.11% 4.46%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.62% 0.56% 10.17%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.43% 0.43% 0.00%
Two or More Races 2.22% 1.57% 34.30%
Hispanic 2.57% 1.64% 44.18%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Ewing was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Ewing, please contact us.

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Ewing last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 4, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/ewing-surname-popularity/.

"Ewing last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/ewing-surname-popularity/. Accessed 4 December, 2024

Ewing last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/ewing-surname-popularity/.

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