Surnames: Introduction

By researching Medieval documentation and finding how surnames were originally recorded, scholars can determine their origins. Drawing on long experience and a unique library of sources, we can research the origin and meaning of your surname, in Britain or abroad. We can present our findings in the form of a Surname History . We can also combine our findings with a coat of arms search in a Heraldic Surname History.

Most surnames fall into one of five categories:

1. Patronymics, taking the name of father or mother, such as Edwards or Tillson (`son of [Ma]Till[da]').
2. Locative, taking the name of the place of residence or origin, such as London or Windsor.
3. Topographic, deriving the name from the nature of the place of residence, such as Wood or Sykes ('one who lived by a ditch').
4. Metonymic, from the occupation, such as Smith or Thatcher.

Sobriquet, taking a nickname as a surname, such as Armstrong or Little.