SURNAME  LOCATOR and RESOURCES

Surnames Found In Our Databases

The LINKS below will take you to an updated listing of all surnames as posted

 in our three databases at the Rootsweb WorldConnect Project.

Tom’s Paternal Ancestors:

Bozarth, Peiffer, Quigley, Rhubart and allied families

No Surname  <  A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z  >

Our Maternal Ancestors:

McVicker, Moreland, Pinnell, Scruggs and allied families

No Surname  <  A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z  >

Fred’s Paternal Ancestors:

Dellinger, Knecht, Pfeffer, Silar and allied families

No Surname  <  A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z  >

Surname Resources at RootsWeb

Surnames at RootsWeb

Select A Letter:

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Surname List Finder

Trying to find a surname list? Don't know which of 8,000 possible variant spellings it might be listed under? This tool finds sound-alike matches for a given surname from among RootsWeb's thousands of surname lists. Please give it a try!

RootsWeb Surname List Finder

RootsWeb's Soundex Converter

Use this link to find the soundex code for a surname, plus other surnames/spellings sharing the same soundex code.

Soundex Converter by RootsWeb

Surname Message Boards

The world's largest online genealogy community with over 17 Million posts on more than 161,000 boards.

Message Boards - Surname Search

Surname Mailing Lists

The LINKS below will take you to an updated listing of all surnames having mailing lists at RootsWeb.

Coat-of-arms

     Many family historians are interested in finding the “family crest” or “coat-of-arms” for the family they are researching.  As such they tend to associate a particular image to their ancestral lineage and consider it as their heritage.  Although this is not entirely accurate the search for a particular coat-of-arms does provide and interesting feature of a family history presentation. 

     Before exploring and citing a particular “coat-of-arms” one must understand two fundamental facts: (1) the coat-of-arms was not awarded to a family or a name, but to an individual. This is why there is often more than one coat of arms associated with a given surname. Unless you can trace your family history to one individual, as verified by reliable sources, then the best that you can hope for is to find a coat of arms that is the oldest for a given name from a given region or the one most frequently used; and (2) beginning in the 19th century, the crest which appears on the helmet was mistakenly dubbed a "family crest" by some, and has become an inaccurate synonym for a full coat of arms. A coat of arms is defined as a group of emblems and figures (heraldic bearings) usually arranged on and around a shield and serving as the special insignia of some person, or institution. 

GENERAL  COAT-OF-ARMS  RESOURCES

The following websites have images of a wide variety of crests, coat-of-arms, and badges.

They may also feature additional heraldry resources as noted in the accompanying descriptions.

·        All Coats of Arms - An alphabetical list of over 8,500 images.

·        All Family Crests.com – Contains thousands of images plus meanings of symbols used in the charges.

·        Family Coats.com – over 10,000 popular surnames that can be searched by nationality.

·        Ancestor Hunt.com -  A-K, L-Z list, of surnames with corresponding free online sites to help locate coats of arms. 

·        Coat of Arms Store Surname Index / Crest Index –

The largest index found of arms from around the world.

·            QOOP.com Coat of Arms Gift Store – search button to almost 500 images.

·            Tradebit.com - High Quality 300 dpi JPG files to use freely to print for your own personal use.

·            Coat of Arms / Family Crest Gallery- alphabetical surname listings on the following pages:  A-B;  B-C;  D; 

E-F;  G-H;  H-I;  J-L;  M;  M-O;  P-R;  S;  S-U;  V-Z

·            World of Heraldry – Site has images of clan badges and heraldic seals. Coats-of-arms are displayed by nationality. 

·            Surnames With Coats of Arms on the Internet – links to family sites containing arms for a single surname.

·        The Tree Maker – alphabetical surname listings of family crests and coats-of-arms

·        Historical Names.com – for each surname this site provides information about its Origins; a brief family history; the motto; and description of the coat-of-arms and crest.

·            Family Coats.com – over 10,000 popular surnames that can be searched by nationality.

·            5 dollar coat-of-arms.com – 24 sample coats-of-arms are displayed for each letter of the alphabet.

NATIONALITY  SPECIFIC  COAT-OF ARMS

The following websites have images of a wide variety of arms, crests, and badges and are listed by nationality.

They may also feature additional heraldry resources as noted in the accompanying descriptions.

IRISH  SURNAMES

·        Coat of Arms Store – Origin of the 40 most common surnames; sept coats-of-arms; Irish Names and Origins; Crest and coast-of-arms.

SCOTTISH  SURNAMES

·        Scottish Family Crests - hundreds of high quality images A-Z for coats-of-arms.

·        Clan Crest Scottish Badges - high quality images A-Y

·        Scottish Clan Badge Gallery – many badges are displayed on official tartan.

FRENCH  SURNAMES

·        French Family Crests - hundreds of high quality images A-Z of family crests and coats-of-arms.

GERMAN  SURNAMES

·            Coat of Arms Store – Has a list of most common German surnames as well as samples of coats-of-arms.

·            Coat of Arms for Kunz/Kuntz, Kern, Fischer and related Families – assorted German and some English

·            German Family Crests – hundreds of high quality images A-Z.

OTHER  SURNAMES

·            Danish Coats-of-Arms - high quality images A-W, also includes some bookplates.

·            Dutch Family Crests  - high quality images A-Z.

·            Portuguese Family Crests - high quality images A-S.

·            Russian Family Crests - high quality images A-Z.

·            Spanish Coat-of-Arms – a varied collection of arms and shields.

HERALDRY RESOURCES

·        Heraldry on the Internet - This site is designed to help conduct heraldry research on the Internet.

·            Heraldry & Genealogy – topics include origins of heraldry & coats of arms; heraldic devices; sources for heraldic material;  heraldic clip art collections, etc.

map a surname

The maps, tables and information presented about names on this website are derived from the analysis of large databases of name records across the world.  The database holds approximately 300 million people in 26 countries of the world, representing a total population of 1 billion people in those countries. In total there are 8 million unique surnames and 5 million unique forenames from 26 countries in Europe, America, Asia and Oceania.  The roots of the names are derived using the OnoMap classification of names (www.onomap.org) which classifies names into groups of common cultural ethnic and linguistic origin using surnames and forenames.  This website displays chosen a series of administrative geographic boundaries for mapping the names data. These are broadly divided into three levels of geography: (1) Country level, as shown in the initial World Map; (2) Region level, which divides countries in coarse administrative regions; and (3)- Locality level, which subdivides the above regions into finer administrative localities.  A detailed list of the different geographical areas shown for each country can be found here.  

Click on this LINK to see more information about the distribution of a surname.  You can get greater

detail for any of the following maps by clicking on the area, i.e state, county that you are interested in.

Web resources

This search engine may

provide you with additional

information to assist with

your research about this topic.

General Surname Resources

·          Your genealogy research of a surname can be facilitated by use of Surname Web. This website links to the majority of the surname data on the web, as well as to individual family trees, origin and surname meaning if known, and many other related genealogy resources. 

·            Surname Finder provides easy access to free and commercial resources for 1,731,359 surnames. On each surname specific "finder" page, you can search a variety of online databases all pre-programmed with your surname.

·           Use the following link to get access to millions of genealogy and surname records with a FREE surname search at The Genealogy Register.

·           Linkpendium Surnames - Web sites, obituaries, biographies, and other material specific to a surname.

·           Cyndi's List - Surnames, Family Associations & Family Newsletters Index - Sites or resources dedicated to specific, individual family surnames.

·           FamilySearch.org - Family History and Genealogy Records - The largest collection of free family history, family tree and genealogy records in the world.

·           Top Genealogical Websites - These mighty roots resources compiled by “Family Tree Magazine”, will give you the power to bust through research brick walls and find answers about your ancestors—all from your home computer.

·           KindredTrails (Surname Websites & Resources) – the surname resources area of the Kindred Trails webpage contins hundred of links to surname information and resources.  In addition it maintains links to family surname sites submitted by other researchers.

Surname Origins, Meanings & Variations

·           SurnameDB Free database of surname meanings - This site SurnameDB.Com contains a large FREE to access database (almost 50,000 surnames) on the history and meaning of family last names.

·           What's In A Name - a survey of Forenames and their origins and relationships to other names.

·            All Surnames Genealogy Resource - Find online genealogy resources for a surname.  Connect with others researching the same family name.  Search online data to find the surname genealogy including free genealogy databases, queries, free searches of large databases.

·           Surname Sites Directory, Name Meanings - The Surname Sites Directory is sorted by traffic popularity. The sites that receive the most daily traffic will be listed as the top directory results.

·           English Surname Dictionary Provides histories of surnames.  Alphabetical sorting of a thousands of surnames which allows one to survey the entire list for similar spelling variations.

·           Behind the Name - Etymology & History of First Names – This website looks at the etymology and history or all types of given names.  Use this website to peruse Browse names and their meanings and Browse other topics in the glossary.   In addition find worthwhile information regarding:  Etymological elements in given names;  List of languages;  Articles and current events about names;  Frequently asked questions about names.

our genealogy reference library

The following Link will take you to our library of genealogy reference volumes.   Here you will find a special section of books about NAMES that may assist you with your research In addition, there are texts pertaining to ethnic and religion groups, family histories, and general genealogy reference.

 Research Library – Table of Contents

Surname Search from Google

Use this free genealogy site to help you get the best genealogy searches from Google™ by using your family tree, for your research. It will create a series of different searches using tips or "tricks" that

will likely improve your results. The different searches will give you many different ways of using Google and the Internet to find ancestry information about this or any other Surname. 

CONTACT INFORMATION

CONTACT INFORMATION

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-- This webpage was last updated on --

01 April 2012