Guides
How surnames began, why they change, and where to look for your own.
- What is a surname? The anatomy of a family nameHow family names began, the four ways most were formed, and what that means for reading your own.
- The name game: why surnames change and how to follow themAnglicisation, translation, clerks and choices: the main reasons a family name is not what it was.
- Spellings of surnames: finding the variantsWhy one family appears under several spellings, and how to search for all of them.
- Online surname search strategiesA practical approach to searching record databases for a name that will not turn up.
- Places and last namesToponymic surnames: what a place name in a family name does and does not tell you.
- Researching German namesSpelling, regions and records for German-American family names.
- Researching Italian namesItalian surname types, regional patterns and where to find records.
- French names in CaliforniaHow French, Spanish and mixed-heritage names shaped the record in California.
- Last names and Irish placesGaelic prefixes, anglicised spellings and the counties where names cluster.
- Jewish and Eastern European last namesHow Jewish family names were adopted, and why records need patience.
- Scottish last namesClans, Mac names, Lowland surnames and how to read a Scottish record.