Knowing the distruibution of a particular surname is particularly helpful to genealogists when assessing the likely birthplace of an ancestor. The Jones surname may be popular in Wales but will be less so for example, in Hampshire.

There are many rescources on the internet, but a particularly useful site is http://www.spatial-literacy.org/UCLnames/default.aspx

The site is based on a research project based at University College London which investigated the distribution of surnames in Great Britain, both current and historic, in order to understand patterns of regional economic development, population movement and cultural identity. This website allows users to search the databases and to trace the geography and history of their family names.

It would of course be impossible to trace our ancestry without our hereditary surnames, but it is important to realise that these have only been in general use from around the 16th century.

Prior to then when travel was very limited, people were just known by their neighbours in their home villages. A man would not be known as Robert Smith but ' Robert the Smith.' Robert the smith may have been the son of someone who was called John the sawyer. However, it would be many years before a son would take his father's name as a surname (Robert Smith or John Sawyer)

Surnames evolved gradually and can be put into three or four main classes. These are:

Place names: Many of the nobility or gentry, particularly those granted land after the Norman conquest of 1066, took the name of the local village or town. Thus we have many early charters or court papers referring to, e.g. John de Chester (John of Chester) etc. In time these names spread to encompass the local yeomen and thus a class of name, referring to the local town or village, came about.
Many surnames also took the name of a feature in a landscape or a well-known area. Newton comes from 'new tun' (or town) and my own surname - Rigby - is Scandanavian in origin, its Norse derivation literally meaning 'the farm on the hill.'

Patronymic names: Robert son of William in time became Robert Williamson; other examples are Johnson, Peterson, Rogerson, etc.

Occupational names: Miller, Fletcher (arrow maker) Carter, Collier, Weaver, Shoemaker, Butcher, Baker, etc are all trades which have become adopted as hereditatry surnames over time.

Nicknames: People would be given names by their neighbours on the basis of a physical characteristic or facial appearance: John Brown and John Whitehead are two examples.

Useful sites are:

• http://www.surnameweb.org/


• http://genealogy.about.com/library/surnames/bl_surnames-r.htm
• http://www.progenealogists.com/surnamestudy.htm

• Post to:
•  del.icio.us
•  Digg
•  Newsvine
•  Nowpublic
•  Reddit