Surnames - Genealogy the easy way?Surnames can make tracing your family tree easier or a lot more difficult. If the surname you want to research is unusual then you may have luck on your side.Where did those names come from? In early times folk did not have surnames - more often than not they lived in communities where it was easy to identify someone by just one name. When there was more than one person with the same name then other identifiers became used and these were often one of four types:
Some names can be easily identified in this way - others may be more difficult. Where there is the influence of a foreign language this can throw you off the scent. If you are going back to older languages such as old English you may need the help of a good reference book.
One of the standard works on the subject of English surnames and their origins is A Dictionary of English Surnames by PH Reaney. Scottish surnames can be researched using Scottish Surnames by David Dorward |