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Try a free surname web search such as surnameguide.com. This and other websites can help you begin your surname search and help you discover the origin and meaning of your particular family name.
Once you begin a search, you may get interested in your geneaology and begin to track your ancestors back generations by their surnames, discovering the places your ancestors got married, paid taxes and bought land. You may even find distant relatives. -
Surnames evolved in several ways. Some examples are patronymic, meaning derived from the first name of the father (as in Johnson, "John's son"); describing an occupation (Miller, Smith); describing a person physically (Armstrong: strong armed); or living near a locality (on the moors: Moore).
Surnames began to come into use about 2,000 years ago by the Romans. It wasn't until the Middle Ages that other parts of the world began to take up the practice, with surnames being passed down by nobility, and then finally by commoners. Ireland was a forerunner of hereditary surnames, with beginnings dating back to the 10th century. -
Break down your name and discover its unique characteristics based on nationality. Maybe you will discover you have Scottish roots with a Latin influence, or you'll discover how your Jewish heritage, for example, figures in to the meaning of your surname throughout history.
Ireland, for example, makes heavy use of the patronymic name. "Mac" means "son of," and "O" means "grandson of" (MacDougal = Son of Doug, O'Leary = Grandson of Leary). The same is true for Italians, who use "d'" or "di" to represent "son of" in the beginning of their surnames.
In Sweden there is a slightly more complex naming system. Hans Jansen would be the son of Jan; Hans Jansen's son would be called Siegfried Hansen (or Hansdotter, if female).
Eastern European Jewish names often derived from the cities in which they lived, like Ginsberg, Upor and Mannheim.
