Poplarly spelt today as Ervin, Erwin, Irvin, Irvine, Irving, Irwin and Urwin, this surname was used by early Scottish kings (allegedly), the armour-bearer of Robert the Bruce, the author of Rip van Winkle and the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, one of the first two men to attempt to summit Mount Everest, and the eighth man on the moon. The name has been given to towns, rivers and mountains in Scotland, Ireland, USA, Canada, Australia and Antarctica, and even an asteroid. Tradition claims that all those born with the surname and descended from a single ancestor, but DNA tests show that today there are over 40 unrelated branches of the surname.

This is the first book to be published that makes a comprehensive record of the traditions, homesteads, heraldry, DNA, early records, chiefs and tartans associated with the surname, and to analyse its origins, spelling, pronunciations and principal migrations. The genealogies of the main branches of the name are refined and updated, including radical re-appraisals of the early Barons of Drum ad Lairds of Bonshaw. The book includes mini-biographies of the principal genealogists who have researched these branches, together with extensive lists of distinguished bearers of the surname, Irwin placenames, armorials, and transcripts and lists of early contemporary references.