What's in a name? A great deal
London: Internet surfers can keep up with the Joneses - or at least find out where they live - with a new website which traces family surnames.
The new site allows users to uncover where their ancestors came from and where they ended up.
The site claims most people do not stray far from the place they were born and so regions where surnames are most heavily concentrated tend to be the areas where they originated.
The site is the brainchild of researchers at University College London and follows the success of a website which showed concentrations of names in the UK.
Professor Paul Longley, who launched the site at the Royal Geographical Society's conference in London, said: "This website broadens the previous one and looks at the distribution of names in 26 countries.
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"A name doesn't just tell you who you are - but where you are, where you came from and where your family has gone." Searchers of the surnames of our top politicians shows a surprising mix of locations.
Although there is a famous cluster of Camerons in London's Notting Hill, the family name probably originated in the Highlands of Scotland. But most Camerons can be found in New Zealand, Australia and Canada.
Blairs are also most concentrated in New Zealand, whereas Thatchers are most likely to be found in Australia.
The Blairs and Thatchers must have gone from here in the first place..
Question: Where did Bush get his name??
brains
I tried the site, brit, I get an "error". What's wrong with me??
lol... nice.......
Cultures and nations have ways of naming their children,..
I love the Icelandic system.. The last names of the are created by taking the first name of the child's father and appending "són" or "dóttir" as appropriate. For example my daughter would be called Britexpatdottir.. Similar to the Arabs who use Abu or Omm in front of the names.
Ofcourse, the natives Americans and probably the indeginous people of Canada have a different method as explained below..
Little indian boy and father:
Boy: Father why do our people name their children like they do?
Father: Well son when a child is born the father looks around and the first thing he sees is what he names his child.
Father: Like your sister Running Deer and your brother Sitting Bull.
Father: But, why do you ask Two Dogs Fu%%ing?