Surnames are a critical piece of our genealogical research, and learning where a surname originated — geographically and etymologically — can not only enhance our research but add another chapter to our family history stories.
Do you have royal last names hiding in your family tree? Do you suspect that some of your ancestors may have royal roots? If you can find one of the surnames from your family tree on the list below, you just might be right! Many families have stories of royalty in the family tree — and …
Could You Have Royalty Hiding in Your Family Tree? Check This List of Surnames Read More »
What do the surnames in your tree mean? Where did they originate and how have they changed over time? Are they unusual, or common? Are there clues to the past hidden in their meanings? Taking the time to carefully research both common and unusual surnames in your family tree can open new doors in your genealogy research. …
New Surname Search Helps You Easily Research Last Names in Your Tree Read More »
Please note that this page no longer offers a surname search, please see our articles about surname research instead. Spending some time focusing on a specific surname in your family tree can help open new doors in your genealogy research. If you’re interested in discovering the meaning of a surname, or are hoping to connect with …
Thank you to family history research site Crestleaf for contributing this guest post. Ahh, Valentine’s Day. Depending on your current relationship status, the season of courtly love can either conjure up warm and fuzzy feelings, or make you want to forget the day exists! But this lovey dovey day isn’t just for couples who want to …
Love is My Last Name: A Fun Look at Valentine’s Day Related Surnames Read More »
Thank you to W Paul Featherstone for sharing his one-name study. It began back in 1995 when I was given my Featherstone lineage back to the 1500s by another researcher, also a Featherstone, who had studied and produced around 20 odd trees just involving North and East Yorkshire. Her sources list now contains 67 pages …
I’d accepted a job in the Netherlands to manage an acquisition for my firm but my kids were at an age when we wanted a settled home life for them. So I commuted monthly across the Atlantic for four years. While I was away, my younger son, David, was accepted into his school’s “gifted and …
Thank you Family History Daily for the opportunity to spread the “genealogy fever” that infects the beginning, as well as the more advanced, genealogy writer. I believe that every family has its sentinel whom records oft forgotten legends thus translating those family members recorded in words to posterity, creating immortality. My epiphany happened on a …
Homesley and Holmes: A Story of Surname Discovery Read More »
Confused about what a suffix added to a name is, what is means and how it should be written? This short guide will help you make sense of it.
OK, OK, we promise this article is all in good fun. After all, we genealogists are usually fairly easy-going folks, and goodness knows we’re patient — after all, we’ve waited ten whole years for the 1950 census! But, alas, sometimes even the best of us let things get under our skin (even if we know we shouldn’t).