Bevins
Usually an English/Welsh surname from the personal name Bevan, meaning “son of Evan,” though some older writers also linked it to Beauvais in France.
The #7,682 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 71,436 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The main explanation is that Bevins is a variant of Bevan, itself from Welsh "ab Evan" or "ap Evan," meaning “son of Evan.” In that sense the name is ultimately patronymic, built on the Welsh form of John. Some 19th-century writers also noticed similarity to names like Bevis and, less confidently, to French place-names such as Beauvais, but the Welsh patronymic derivation is the stronger and more standard account.
History
Spellings such as Bevan, Bevans, Bevens, and Bevins appear in older records as interchangeable or local spelling variants. The surname is especially associated with Wales and the English border regions, where Welsh patronymics were often Anglicized in different ways. A minority of older reference works proposed a French local origin, but that view is much less persuasive for Bevins itself.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Old genealogical dictionaries often grouped Bevins with Bevan and even explained the extra -s as just one more spelling variation, not a separate family line.
From the historical record
“Beauvaifl. — (i) Local, 'of Beau- vais,' in France, (a) Bapt. a modification of Beavins or Bevins, q.v. ; cT Purkias for Perkins. Simon de Beanveja, London, 30 Edw. Philip de Beaaveya, London, ibid.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances