Evans surname meaning

Evans is the Welsh patronymic "Evan’s"—Evan (Ifan) being a Welsh form of John. The -s is the familiar southern/Welsh genitive ending, so Evans sits beside Jones and Davis as a parent's-name surname from a Biblical given name.

It does not mean a trade. Bevan ("son of Evan" with ap) is a related Welsh pattern. In the US the spelling Evans dominates; the everyday meaning remains son of Evan. Unrelated lines can share the spelling without one shared ancestor.