Do you know the meaning of your surname?
Curious about the origin of your surname? Whether your family name comes from an occupation, location, or ancestral trait, this guide will help you understand what your last name means and how to trace its roots.
Surnames often hold keys to our ancestral pasts, revealing origins, occupations, locations, and physical traits. Delving into the meanings behind surnames provides a captivating glimpse into our ancestor's lives, helping genealogists to trace their family's roots.
Want to Find the Meaning of Your Surname?
Try one of these surname search tools:
- Forebears.io – Global surname distribution & meaning
- Ancestry surname search – Free surname facts tool
- Head to the GB Names website and type in your chosen surname
And read on to find out how to research the origins of your last name, what your surname means, and much more with this guide to surname meaning.
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How to discover the meaning of your surname
A great starting point if you'd like to find out more about a particular surname is to tap into existing research. Many of the UK's hundreds of family history societies have published studies that relate to a particular surname or family.
You can find listings of societies around the country on the Family History Federation website.
If your surname of interest has origins in a particular area, try the society that covers that area first. Family History Federation has a surname interests hub page where you can see a summary of all surname interest projects logged with the federation.
Where do surnames come from?
In Britain, we didn’t have surnames before the Norman Conquest, as we lived mostly in small communities, known by just our personal name, writes professional onomasiologist Royston Martin.
However, society became more complex, and William the Conqueror’s thorough survey of the places of England and its population of around 1½ million people (ruled by just 10,000 Normans), meant an extra description of a man was needed so they could be exactly recorded.
By the 1400s in England, Scotland and Ireland most had a hereditary surname; in Wales surnames became fixed as late as the 1800s (David Christmas was baptised on Boxing Day 1802, for instance – his father was Christmas Bedow).
Broadly, surnames have just four origins:
- Place name-related surnames
Place names surnames not only give you clues about possible geographic locations for early holders of the name, but can also indicate where a name has migrated from another country.
- Patronymic surnames
Patronymic surnames hark back to a time from before surnames were formalised. For example, the son of a man named Jack in a village would be known as Jackson, Fitzgerald was 'son of Gerald' and so on.
- Occupation-related surnames
Occupation surnames will be familiar to many of us and can be found in most countries around the world. UK examples can include names such as Smith, Baker and Beadle.
- Descriptive surnames
Descriptive surnames give you a tantalising glimpse into the possible physical appearance of some of the earliest holders of the name.
For example, Lofthouse or Long can indicate a tall person, although do bear in mind that such surnames were sometimes adopted in an ironic way from a nickname, where the name Long was affectionally given to a person of short stature.
These types are sometimes referred to as: first names, locations, occupations and nicknames, with the acronym F.L.O.N.
Scotland, Wales and Ireland have far more names from ancestors than England, hence the famous ‘mac’ meaning ‘son of’ in Scotland and Ireland.
- In Ireland the prefix ‘O’ means ‘descendant of’, often from a very early chieftain
- in Wales ‘son of’ was ‘mab’, now shortened and sharpened to ‘ap’ so ‘ap Rhys’ became Price.
- If you have Manx family the ‘C’, ‘K’ and ‘Q’ dominate; Quilliam being a shortened version of mac William.
- In Cornwall, however, more names come from where someone lived, the prefix ‘tre-’ meaning homestead.
We may think of multi-culturalism as modern but t’was always thus: Celts and Gaels, Normans, French, Flemish, Norse, Bretons and Huguenots are just a few of the many cultures that have contributed to the surname heritage of the British Isles.
Scottish surnames and family history
For the family historian, Scottish surnames offer a rich and intricate tapestry of history, tradition, and heritage.
Rooted in the Gaelic, Norse, and Anglo-Saxon languages, Scottish surnames often reveal clues about an individual's ancestral origins, occupation, or physical characteristics.
From familiar Scottish surnames like MacLeod, Campbell, and Stewart, which denote kinship and clan affiliation, to more descriptive names like Armstrong (meaning 'strong arm') or Black (indicating dark hair or complexion), each surname carries with it a story that can provide valuable insights into a family's past.
In 2025 the National Records of Scotland (NRS) revealed the most common surnames of 2024 as follows (the occurrences of the surname in brackets):
- Smith (1,832)
- Brown (1,289)
- Wilson (1,179)
- Robertson (1,054)
- Stewart (1,052)
- Campbell (1,017)
- Thomson (988)
- Anderson (925)
- Murray (748)
- Scott (737)
The names Smith, Brown and Wilson have been the top three most common surnames from 1975 through to 2024. Read the full surname data on the National Records of Scotland website.
One-name studies resources and societies
One of the best ways to progress your research is to join one or more surname societies. These are listed below, under 'surname resources' and provide articles, events, publications, opportunities to contact others with the same interests, and access to expert support.
Surname research is definitely a project that can benefit from interaction with others researching the same name. As well as linking up with those involved in one-name studies (see above) you can also find others with the same interest by:
- Googling your surname with the words 'family history' and/or 'research' -and do consider alternative spellings of the name
- Asking a family history society that covers where the name is most prevalent whether any of its members are researching the name. Find a list of societies at Family History Federation
- Linking up with DNA matches by filtering your results to show those with the same surname on their family tree
Surname projects and DNA
These genetic genealogy projects use DNA tests to trace male lineages, with Y-chromosome markers indicating whether or not two individuals are related. ISOGG Wiki provides a great overview and lists some of the biggest such projects.
Many of these projects are hosted at Family Tree DNA. Visit the FamilyTreeDNA website to see details of over 11,000 such projects. You can also start your own project on the website if your name isn't already under investigation.
Online surname resources
The Guild of One-Name Studies supports worldwide surname research via resources, education and community - all intended to help members research a particular name. It currently has more than 8,000 surname studies registered and has more than 2,000 members around the world.
The Surname Society is a worldwide group of experienced genealogists. The Society is entirely online and focuses on single surname studies. Membership of the society is not restricted to individuals and is open to societies, associations and other groups researching surnames anywhere in the world.
Using the GB Names website
Whenever a new surname crops up in your research, use surname maps to find out where it was most prevalent, advises professional family historian Dr Sophie Kay.
- Head to the GB Names website and type in your chosen surname.
- The map visualisation shows you the hotspots for that name according to national census data from selected years within 1851-1911, along with modern data sets.
It gathers information from historic census records and more recent consumer information and maps the whereabouts of surnames. It aims to explore "the generational and inter-generational residential movements of family groups across Great Britain".
If there are fewer than 100 instances in a year, then a surname won't appear in the GB Names database.
Some surnames evolve into very different forms, or become extinct altogether.
If you have a rare surname, investigate the links below to see whether anyone else is researching them.
If you do find your surname in the GB Names database be sure to scroll down to 'Frequencies'. Here you can find out how many people have that surname from 1851 to recent years.
Forebears is hard to beat - with over 31 million surnames in its database. Simply type in your name of interest and then enjoy exploring the stats. Warning - the site is very addictive, be prepared to devote several hours to exploring!
FamilySearch has a good range of surname maps for various countries and ISOGG Wiki has a similar resources page, with links to global communities.
Original Record website
Remember that in times past many of our ancestors would have been far less familiar with the written record, and would have had lower levels of literacy. This is just one of the many reasons why you may encounter variations in the spellings of your ancestors' names. Browse the alphabetical surname categories on the Original Record website.
Resources to help you research your surname
Books on surnames and their meanings
Oxford English Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland covers more than 45,000 names, including immigrant names. The book has a £400 cover price but can often be found in the reference section of larger libraries and some libraries also offer their members online access, such as Manchester.
The Surnames Handbook by Debbie Kennett is a practical guide to all aspects of surname research, including a guide to using traditional paper-based research in conjunction with DNA findings.
What's in your surname: the fascinating story of British surnames by William Lewis tells the story of our surnames and reveals that their meanings are the key features to understanding their origins.
Websites on surname meaning
A selection of helpful websites, many of which have suggestions for further reading and research.
- FamilySearch's English Surnames: their origins and meanings
- What's in a surname? The finding of a major research project to create the largest and most detailed database of UK surnames
- How to search for Scottish surnames at ScotlandsPeople
- What's in a surname? UK National Archives blog
Archives and libraries
Society of Genealogists
The Society holds both printed and published family histories, as well as unpublished family manuscripts. This guide explains how to search the Society's collections for a particular surname and also includes helpful information on surname origins and surname distribution.
Local and family history libraries
Many UK local history and family history libraries hold collections relating to surnames that are prevalent in the area that they cover. Their online and print catalogues may also have links to published and unpublished surname histories that have been deposited with the institution in question.
One such example is Derbyshire County Council libraries, who have a family history surname search created by Chesterfield & District Family History Society.
Surname courses
Pharos Tutors regularly runs a online distance learning course on one-name studies. Also keep an eye out for events run by Guild of One-Name Studies.
Exploring the meaning and history of surnames offers a captivating glimpse into our ancestral past. With a wealth of resources available, from societies to online databases, genealogists can uncover valuable clues to trace their lineage and improve their understanding of their family history.
