This is a patronymic "the son of Evan" "ab Evan" (in Welsh) Evan is the Welsh form of John - a name meaning "the Lord is gracious". The surname is first recorded in the 13th Century. Alternate spellings have included Beaven (1676) and Beavens (1752). In the modern idiom the name has eight spelling variations:- Beavan, Bevans, Beven, Bevnes, Beavan, Beaven, Beavon and Beevens. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Edenevet ap Leuan. which was dated 1287, The Assize Court Rolls of Cheshire. during the reign of King Edward I, the Hammer of the Scots, 1272 - 1307. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.