Evans family

**Evans** was the surname of a Muggle family. They must have had some distant magical blood. At least one member, Lily Evans, was a Muggle-born witch. They were related by marriage to the wizarding Potter and Weasley families, and distantly to the Prewett family.

## History

The earliest known members of the family were Mr and Mrs Evans, who had two daughters, Petunia and Lily Evans. They lived near Spinner's End in Cokeworth, sharing residence with the Snape family. Lily's parents were Muggles, as was her sister Petunia.

It is very likely that the Evanses have at least one wizarding ancestor, given that Muggle-born wizards are usually descended from Squibs whose descendants lose all notion of their wizarding lineage, and whose wizarding power resurfaces several generations later. Lily, therefore, most likely has very distant wizarding ancestry.

Mr and Mrs Evans were proud of their younger daughter being a witch and appeared to have favoured her over their elder daughter because of it.

They were related to the Dursley family through Petunia's marriage to Vernon Dursley, and the Potter family through Lily's marriage to James Potter.

They were famous for being Harry Potter's maternal family, and were known in the wizarding world for Lily's loving sacrifice that saved Harry from Lord Voldemort when he was just an infant.

This family was extinct in the male line, but not in the female line. When Harry married Ginny Weasley, they became related to the Weasley family through their three children, James Sirius, Albus Severus, and Lily Luna. Petunia's son Dudley Dursley had at least two children as well.

## Family members

### Evans relatives

 Vernon Dursley | Related through marriage, husband of Petunia, and father to Dudley Dursley

## Etymology

*Evans* is a Welsh, Irish or English surname derived from the given name *Evan*. As a Welsh name, Template:W means "young warrior;" it can also be considered a form of the name *John*, meaning "God is gracious."

Both sisters in the Evans family, Lily and Petunia, are named after flowers.

## Behind the scenes

* Mark Evans and Lucy Evans are not known to be related to this family.
* When Harry looked in the Mirror of Erised and saw his maternal and paternal family, he saw people with the same almond shaped green eyes as he had. It is known that he inherited them from his mother, Lily Evans, making it likely that it is an Evans family trait.
* Interestingly, the etymology of the Evans family is "young warrior". This could tie with Harry Potter, the son of Lily Evans.
* J. K. Rowling has explained that, when she was looking for a maiden name for Lily, she chose Evans *"on the basis that it’d been George Eliot’s real name."* As for the case of Mark Evans, Rowling stated that she chose this surname - without giving it much thought - simply due to it being a common name, expressing similar feelings about "Smith" and "Jones", as well as "Black", "Thomas", and "Brown", which were given to other significant characters.
* In the *Harry Potter* films, the descendants of the Evans family and sons-in-law are played by the following actors:
	+ Lily Potter (née Evans) is played by Geraldine Somerville in *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone*, *Chamber of Secrets*, *Prisoner of Azkaban*, *Goblet of Fire*, *Order of the Phoenix*, *Half-Blood Prince*, *Deathly Hallows: Part 1* and *Part 2*.
		- The 15 year old Lily Evans was played in a deleted scene by Susie Shinner in Template:OOTP.
		- The 11 year old Lily Evans was played by Ellie Darcey-Alden in Template:DH.
	+ Harry Potter is played by Daniel Radcliffe in all of the films.
		- Baby Harry Potter was played by the Saunders triplets in the film adaptation of *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone* and by Toby Papworth in Template:DH.
	+ James Sirius Potter is played by Will Dunn in Template:DH.
	+ Albus Severus Potter is played by Arthur Bowen in Template:DH.
	+ Lily Luna Potter is played by Daphne de Beistegui in Template:DH.
	+ Petunia Dursley (née Evans) is played by Fiona Shaw in *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone*, *Chamber of Secrets*, *Prisoner of Azkaban*, *Order of the Phoenix* and *Deathly Hallows: Part 1*.
		- The teenager Petunia Evans was played by Ariella Paradise in Template:DH.
	+ Dudley Dursley is played by Harry Melling in *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone*, *Chamber of Secrets*, *Prisoner of Azkaban*, *Order of the Phoenix* and *Deathly Hallows: Part 1*.
	+ James Potter is played by Adrian Rawlins in *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone*, *Chamber of Secrets*, *Prisoner of Azkaban*, *Goblet of Fire*, *Order of the Phoenix*, *Deathly Hallows: Part 1* and *Part 2*.
		- The 15 year old James Potter I was played by Robbie Jarvis in Template:OOTP.
		- The 11 year old James Potter I was played by Alfie McIlwain in Template:DH.
	+ Vernon Dursley is played by Richard Griffiths in *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone*, *Chamber of Secrets*, *Prisoner of Azkaban*, *Order of the Phoenix* and *Deathly Hallows: Part 1*.

1. ↑ The only known male member is dead.
2. ↑ 30 July 2007 Bloomsbury Webchat with J.K. Rowling
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Template:DH
4. ↑ Template:WW
5. ↑ Template:DH
6. ↑ Behind the Name: the etymology and history of surnames | Evans - surnames.behindthename.com
7. ↑ Behind the Name: the etymology and history of first names | Evan - behindthename.com
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 F.A.Q. question at Template:JKRS (archived)
9. ↑ Template:HPLE
10. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone*, Chapter 12 (*The Mirror of Erised*) - "They just looked at him, smiling. And slowly, Harry looked into the faces of the other people in the mirror, and saw other pairs of green eyes like his"
11. ↑ 28 August, 2012 "Daniel Radcliffe talks to J.K. Rowling: EXCLUSIVE VIDEO" Entertainment Weekly