Search results
Researching our family background is all the rage, but what does it all mean? Americans by the millions are pursuing their genealogy and bio-geographical ancestry. But what can this tell us...
Jan 9, 2024 · What does your last name mean to you? If you have children someday, how will you decide on their last names?
What does your last name mean? What’s a second cousin twice removed? And what’s the deal with family crests? These are just a few of the common questions you might encounter when you start exploring your family history.
- Rachel Christian
Jul 8, 2023 · Your surname can lead you on a journey through your heritage and, potentially, guide you towards where your earliest ancestors lived or what they did for a living. Take a look at how surnames got their start in different parts of the world and how they are not the same as last names.
- What Is A surname?
- Where Does Your Last Name Come from?
- How to Find Out What Your Last Name Means
- Surnames and Spelling
- Researching Common Surnames
- How to Refine Common Surname Searches on Google
- Researching Unique Surnames
- Surnames and Nationality
- Finding Maiden Names
Surnames, also called family names and last names, are names added to the end of a person’s first or “given” name. The creation and adoption of surnames are largely based on culture and nationality. It’s believed the Chinese adopted the practice of hereditary family names as early as 2852 BC. England began relying on them around 1000 AD. In some cu...
Surname origins tend to fall into one of four categories: patronymic (named from the father), occupational, nickname or place name. According to Elsdon Smith, author of American Surnames(Genealogical Publishing Co.), a survey of some 7,000 last names in America revealed that slightly more than 43 percent of our names derive from places, followed by...
Despite their importance to genealogy, some surnames didn’t come along until fairly recently, and genealogists are glad their families finally adopted these identifiers. But the value of last names to family historians doesn’t stop there. You can open the door to even more genealogical finds by using these strategies for learning what your last nam...
Does spelling count? In a word: no. Be prepared for lots of spelling variations in American records as well as records from the country of origin. Illiteracy was high and spelling didn’t seem to matter much—the sound was what was important. If you’re researching the name Dickinson, for example, you’ll also want to check variants such as Dickerson, ...
Common surnames such as Smith, Jones, Miller, Johnson and Brown became even more common over the years as immigrants changed their original names to these to sound more “American.” (It’s important to note surnames were not changed forthem at Ellis Island.) The good news about researching a common family name is that you’ll find lots of information....
Online searching becomes especially frustrating if you’re tracing ancestors with common surnames—monikers that double as other common words, such as colors (White), geographical formations (Hill) and buildings (Church). Fortunately, you can solve this problem using Google’s built-in search “operators”—special characters that force Google to customi...
If you have an unusual surname, it can be frustrating to find any information at all. Yet, when you do, it will be much easier to understand how it directly fits into your family. Unusual family names have two advantages: 1. there are limited numbers 2. everyone remembers it if they ever met someone with that last name
Naming practices have developed differently from region to region and country to country. Yet no matter the geographic location, hereditary family names still tend to fall into those four main naming categories: patronymic (named from the father), occupational, place name or nickname.
In the past, a woman’s legal status became feme covert(literally a “covered woman”) upon marriage. She not only gave up her surname, but her rights as well. Unfortunately for genealogists, her identity became absorbed into that of her spouse’s in official documentation. When it comes to researching female ancestors, it’s crucial to find their origi...
Dec 1, 2022 · One of the key results you’ll obtain is an estimate of your ethnicity. This is shown with pie charts, percentages, and maps of regions where you’re most closely related. The colored pie chart is divided into wedges that are equivalent to the percentages that are shown.
People also ask
How do we define a surname?
Is a surname a hereditary name?
Where did surnames come from?
What is an example of a surname?
Definition of last name noun in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.
