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 others who are researching a specific last name, this search tool can help.

By typing a surname in the box below you will be searching a variety of sites that provide information about the origins, meanings, and migrations of last names. We’ve also included some forums and groups where people are connecting around specific surnames to help you discover other researchers that may be able to help you.

Note: The tool below only searches free pages for information, however, the sites these databases are stored on may ask for payment for other resources, or may link to external research sites that require a fee. Please keep that in mind when searching.

Conduct Your Surname Search Here

This search tool is no longer available.

This tool only searches a small sampling of the many free genealogy pages available online–those with a surname focus. For more places to conduct your research check out our Free Genealogy Search Engine or our list of 50 Free Genealogy Sites.

Here are a few of the resources we included in our search. You may like to visit and search these sites individually for more options and results.

-If you are interested in a site that provides in-depth surname research options we highly recommend the Guild of One-Name Studies.

–RootsWeb is a free site that has a very helpful surname database. It is a good place to connect with others who are researching a last name in your tree.

–Genealogy.com’s surname forums also provide a good place to connect with others and use of this area of their site is free.