20 November 2024
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Search TheGenealogist MasterSearch for your surname of interest and note which counties your surname appears in
Is that your ancestor in the records? Or just someone with the same name? Is that name found frequently in that place? Or is it a rarity? With family history we have so many questions about names...
Understanding more about the origins of your family name isn’t just a point of idle curiosity; having knowledge about where the surnames in your family tree came from is vitally important in order to be able to conduct focused research, and also be able to make sense of your search results.
Is someone else researching my surname?
Is there a DNA project about my surname?
What if my surname is spelt differently?
Explore this website to see surnames over time
Which counties is my surname found in?
Use first names to gauge people's ages
How to gather names from FreeBMD for your one-name study
Case study: How to investigate your surname for family tree research
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Is someone else researching my surname?
The first step to finding out whether someone is already researching your surname is to explore the Guild of One-Name Studies website and enter your family name in the surname search bar.
The Guild of One-Names Studies is an international organisation and its members dedicate themselves to researching specific surnames (and surname variations - our ancestors' spelling was a little inconsistent sometimes, and spellings evolved over time too).
Currently more than 7,000 names are being researched and the researchers will be focussing on spelling variants too.
See whether your surname is being researched at the Guild of One-Name Studies
Is there a DNA project about my surname?
The next step, if you enjoy weaving DNA into your family history, is to be sure too to check the Group Projects at FamilyTreeDNA. These projects number more than 12,000 and relate to a surname or geographical area of interest. Search for your surname of interest and follow the links to each of the projects including your name (your name may be being investigated by a number of projects).
Check whether a DNA surname project is underway for your name at FamilyTreeDNA
What if my surname is spelt differently?
Dealing with surname spelling variations are part and parcel family history research. Our ancestors' names may have been spelt differently in the records for any number of reasons: lack of literacy, the evolution of a surname and spelling trends over time, the way in which someone interpreted the audible sound of the surname when copying it down, and simple spelling mistakes.
Having a clear appreciation of the many ways in which your ancestor's name may appear in the records is extremely helpful in aiding you in being sure as to whether an entry in the records really is for your ancestor.
Having an understanding of the numerous spelling variations can help you conduct more thorough searches for your ancestor too.
Explore this website to see surnames over time
The Original Record website can be filtered by date span and browsed by surnames, listed alphabetically, and gives much food for thought as to possible surname variations to look out for.
Search for your surname at Original Record and keep an eye out for other spelling variations
Which counties is my surname found in?
Search TheGenealogist MasterSearch for your surname of interest. Use the 'Filter by event' tools to explore the coverage, by county and period, for your surname of interest. For instance, select the 'census' filter, and within that you can study each census year, gaining overall numbers of which counties your family name appears in, and how many instances there of it.
Use first names to gauge people's ages ...
When doing family history research we are keen to turn over every stone to help us in our research quest. The first name popularity table over time above can be a helpful way to gauge someone's age - as certain first names trend in particular periods. This tip can be particularly useful when looking at your DNA matches and trying to determine which generation someone may belong to.
How to gather names from FreeBMD for your one-name study
If you’re embarking upon a one-name study to gather data on the various instances of a particular surname it’s useful to know how to capture your findings when working with multiple instances of the same surname.
In the below project, Julie takes us on a step-by-step tour through how to use the FreeBMD genealogy website to capture surname data for your chosen name.
Visit FreeBMD and do a search for your surname of choice. When conducting your own research you want to record every instance of a surname in the records ie on FreeBMD this means birth, marriage and death registrations (marriage demonstration is shown below).
Follow the steps below to record your findings for use in your one-name study.
Step 1
At the top, by the search box, there is an option to download the data. Click download. The file downloads as a Text (TXT) file.
Step 2
Then open a spreadsheet such as Excel or Google Sheets, placing the cursor at the top.
Step 3
Return to the downloaded TXT file and copy the data by clicking on CTRL and A, then CTRL and C. Then head back to the spreadsheet and pressing CTRL and V the data from the text file should fall nicely into the spreadsheet. Delete any information above the row.
Step 4
Then repeat the process for any varations of spellings. In the case of the name Dwerryhouse here, I also downloaded Dweryhouse and inserted into the same marriages spreadsheet.
Step 5
Repeat the process for births and deaths in the same way and copy them across into separate pages in the same workbook.
Step 6
I always add an extra field at the end of my spreadsheets for notes where I record anything relevant, such as a death located in Scotland where the birth or marriage took place in England and Wales.
Having downloaded that material I can then build on it using other datasets, such as the census, migration records and the 1939 Register.
Julie Goucher has been researching her family history since the late 1980s and has an interest
in Italian ancestry. Julie is conducting a number of one-name studies and is an administrator for several DNA projects.
She is the tutor for the One-Name Studies courses run by Pharos Tutors and is a Trustee for the Guild of One-Name Studies. Visit her website here.
Case study: How to investigate your surname for family tree research
June Terrington shares her expert tips for finding out more about a very precious family history clue - your surname.
Many of the family names we have today are centuries old, but often their origins are lost in time, and not immediately obvious. However, with a little investigation you can find out a great deal, which will help to shed wider light on the origins of the surnames on your family tree.
Expect spelling variations
Our names are passed down generation to generation, but over the years they can morph, and this can create puzzles when we come to research our roots. Whether the changes are simply changes in spelling, due to lack of literacy, or decisive, deliberate alterations, as you trace your family surname back in time, don't be surprised if you come across significant variations in the spelling of family names.
Rare names
Sometimes a name can be uncommon, such as my married surname Terrington - and rarity usually makes research easier.
Terrington is an English location name from the pretty village of Terrington in North Yorkshire. It is also said to have come from tiefran, the pagan practice of sorcery, which was supposed to defend against Viking invaders.
Popular names
Other names such as Wilson, my maiden name, can be found commonly - in large numbers and in numerous places. The most common surnames in England and Wales are those such as Jones, Smith, Williams and Taylor. Visit Behind the Name to start exploring a list of the 500 most commonly occuring surnames in 1991.
The family name can often given you a possible occupation in which that branch of the family was involved, or a location they may have come from years ago. Sometimes names were based on an ancestor's appearance or characteristics.
Having the same surname as someone else is no guarantee of a family connection. As you gather clues for your family tree, you'll build up family units and learn where your family came from. Surname DNA projects, such as ISOGG are working to establish connections between names and families.
Originally published February 2017. Reviewed September 2022.
How popular is my first name?
Explore the 100 most popular baby names for boys and girls in England and Wales, from 1904 to the present day.
Use the form to find out how popular a particular name has been since records began in 1904, and explore what names were most popular when an ancestor was born or had their own children. You can also compare the popularity of one name against another.
PS Would you like to find out whether your surname indicates you may have an ancestor who worked in a medieval castle... click here
Last updated 21 November 2024
