The MacEwan bardic family was a prominent learned kindred that practiced classical Gaelic poetry, recognized as one of the "families of the filidh." The family served the MacDougalls of Lorne, and later the Campbells of Argyll. The MacEwans, like other prominent bardic families employed by Scottish lords, were likely of Irish origin. Their use of the rare personal name "Athairne" suggests that they were a branch of the Irish O'Hosey ("Ó hEoghusa") bardic family. A branch of the MacEwan bardic family may have been the MacEwan family of harpers, recorded in the mid-sixteenth century.