Surnames and Genealogy

Surnames provide valuable clues about your ancestors' origins and movements. Articles examine how names evolved, their geographical connections, and what Irish, Scottish and Welsh surnames reveal.

How Surnames Change Over Time

Surnames reveal less about us than they used to, and people have been changing theirs for centuries for all sorts of reasons.

Maiden Names in Genealogy

Your grandmother's maiden name holds clues to another whole branch of your family tree, and there are several records you can check to find it.

Scottish Surnames and Location

Most Scottish surnames come from land names and clan affiliations, with meanings that shift depending on Highland or Lowland origins.

Surnames and Places

Trace your family roots through place-based surnames and discover what village names and geography reveal about your ancestry.

The Meaning of Irish Surnames

Irish surnames started as ways to identify family generations, with "Mac" meaning son of and "O" meaning grandson of, not place names as many assume.

The Origins of Surnames

Surnames didn't exist in early Britain, but the Norman Conquest changed how people identified themselves and their families.

Tracing Your Ancestors by Name

Track down distant relatives and hidden family branches by following your surname through generations of genealogy records.

What Welsh Surnames Can Tell Us

Welsh surnames come from patronymic naming traditions that explain why there are so few of them and what they reveal about family history.