General Resource Sites

• About Names: Meaning and Origin of Given Names 
  Meanings and origins of the 2000 most popular US given names and their European variants, grouped according to common origin.
• All About Names - WikiName 
  An open encyclopedia of names.
• AskOxford: Concise Dictionary of First Names 
  A searchable dictionary of over 6,000 given names from Oxford Dictionaries, with detailed description of origins, and short and pet forms.
• Behind the Name 
  The etymology and history of first names.
• Beyond the Index--Michael John Neill's Articles in the Ancestry Daily News 
  • Do You Ear What I Ear? 
    An article on how pronunciations and phonetics can impact how names get entered in records.
  • The First Name Game 
    This article discusses concerns with given names when searching genealogical records.
  • From Your Ancestor's Mouth to Your Computer Screen 
    Your ancestor's last name, first name, and other information, passed through many mouths, heads, hands, and fingers before appearing on your computer screen. This article discusses how all those passings could be causing you problems.
  • The Last Name Game 
    This article discusses concerns with last names when searching genealogical records.
  • Links2History: Name Origins 
    Origins and meanings of thousands of European-language based surnames.
  • Named for Whom? 
    This article discusses naming patterns with first and middle names, including patterns often used and why it is important to remember that not every family necessarily followed these conventions.
  • A Rose By Any Other Name 
    This article discusses considerations that must be given to first, middle, and last names when researching.
  • Sally/Sarah: What's the difference? 
    This article discusses the importance of distinguishing between names and nicknames so that distinct individuals are not "merged."
• Changing Immigrant Names 
  Includes a list of reasons for name changes and links to stories about how names were changed.
• Deciphering Old Handwriting 
  • Old Style Abbreviations - Proper Names 
• Family Naming Traditions 
• First Name Basis 
  To aid you in researching when all you know is the first name of a person. Focuses on unusual first names and women's first names when maiden names are unknown.
• Genealogy.com - Twigs & Trees with Rhonda: Naming Patterns May Hold a Clue 
  Article by Rhonda R. McClure.
• Given Name Index 
• Given Names 
  Listing of the ten most popular male and female given names from 1900 to 1977 in order of popularity. Derived from Michigan state driver's licenses.
• Jerry Hill Presents Names 
  Comprehensive list of links to all sorts of references to names.
• A Listing of Some 18th and 19th Century American Nicknames 
• Names: All About Them 
• Nicknames and Naming Traditions 
• Nom de Guerre - The Real People's Real Name Resource of Pseudonyms & Aliases 
• Personal Name 
  Definitions & world-wide naming customs from Wikpedia.
• The relevance of surnames in genealogy 
  From the Society of Genealogists (UK). Explains the history behind the taking of surnames and the difficulty of reliance on surnames in modern genealogy.
• The USGenWeb Project - Information on Names 
• What's in a Name? OR: People Who Live in Glasshouses Should Not Throw Stones 
• Why U Can't Find Your Ancestors Misspeld Knames — A Commun Probblem for Reeserchors  
  From RootsWeb's Guide To Tracing Family Trees.

Locality Specific

• 18th Century PA German Name Spelling Idiosyncrasies 
• 18th Century PA German Naming Customs 
• 18th Century PA German Nicknames 
• American Names / Declaring Independence 
  Discusses "name changes at Ellis Island". From the US Immigration and Naturalization Service.
• Ancestry.com - Italian Naming Customs 
  Article by John Philip Colletta.
• BBC - History - What's In a Name Your Link to the Past 
• beliebte Vornamen: Hitlisten 1890 - 2008 
  The most popular first names in Germany since 1890.
• Die beliebtesten Vornamen 
  The most popular boys and girls forenames in Germany for the years 1995 to 1997. In German.
• British Surnames: First-names, Localities, Occupations, Nicknames 
• British Surname Studies 
• Colonial Naming Customs 
• Cornish First Names 
• Cornish Surnames 
  Names starting with these old Celtic Cornish words.
• Dictionary of Flemish First Names with Translation in Latin and French 
• A Dictionary of Period Russian Names 
• English Versions of Czech, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Slovak, Russian & Yiddish Foreign Names 
• German Names 
  An online article in three parts on German names.
• GermanNames - Shareware for German Genealogy 
  Surname maps of modern Germany based on telephone directories.
• Hugh Wallis's Genealogical Web Sites 
  Includes a listing of names found in the IGI organized by middle names for selected English counties.
• Last Name Meanings Dictionary 
  Find the ethnic origin and meaning of last names. Surname dictionary and genealogy helps include names of Irish, German, English, French, Italian and Jewish descent.
• Maryland State Archives Junior and Senior 
• Maryland State Archives Naming Children 
• Medieval Names Archive 
• Naming Children in early New England 
  Scholarly work on the naming patterns used by early Puritans.
• Naming Customs found in Poland 
• Origin and Meaning of Molokan Surnames 
  This glossary contains roots and meanings of over 250 Russian Molokan surnames in America.
• Origin of Chinese Surnames 
• Roman Nomenclature 
  Guide as to how Roman names were derived.
• Scandinavian Names 
  From the Medieval Names Archive.
• Scottish Names 
  First names with Scottish roots.
• Scottish Names Resources 
• Some Manx First Names 
  From the Manx National Heritage Library and Archives.
• Surnames in Italy / L'Italia dei cognomi 
  By entering a surname and pressing the red arrow, a distribution map of Italy is generated showing the concentrations of that particular surname in Italy.
• Those Norwegian Names, a Little History and Tips for Online Researchers 
  Did you meet the brick wall while researching your Norwegian ancestors online? This article might give some new clues.
• United Kingdom and Ireland Names, Personal 
  Links to various resources within and outside of GENUKI.
• UK Surname Frequency 1851-1996 
• Welsh Surnames 

Mailing Lists, Newsgroups & Chat

• Genealogy Resources on the Internet - Mailing Lists 
  Most of the mailing list links below point to this site, wonderfully maintained by John Fuller. John indexes links for all known genealogy mailing lists, including RootsWeb and others.
• RootsWeb: Genealogy Mailing Lists 
  The majority of genealogy mailing lists are hosted by RootsWeb.com. Messages on RootsWeb lists are archived. The links to RootsWeb below point you to the archives (browse or search).

• ALSATIAN-SURNAMES Mailing List 
  multilingual English-French-German mailing list for the discussion and sharing of information regarding Alsatian surnames. Archives: browse or search.
• ENG-SURNAMES Mailing List 
  For the discussion and sharing of information regarding surnames in England. Archives: browse or search.
• GEN-Firstnames-origins Mailing List 
  For the discussion and sharing of information the meaning and origins of first or given names found in Britain.
• GERMAN-SURNAMES Mailing List 
  A multilingual English-French-German mailing list for anyone with a genealogical, cultural or historical interest in German surnames (including German surnames in Alsace, former Austria-Hungary, Baltic, Benelux, Denmark, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, etc). Archives: browse or search.
• NICKNAMES Mailing List 
  For discussion and sharing of information regarding the origins of nicknames and what names they belong to. Archives: browse or search.
• SCANDINAVIAN-SURNAMES Mailing List 
  For the discussion and sharing of information regarding Scandinavian surnames and given names. Archives: browse or search.
• SURNAME-ORIGINS Mailing List 
  For the discussion of the etymology (word origin) of surnames, as well as the geographic origins of surnames. Archives: browse or search.

• Yahoo! Groups: aliasancestors - Ancestors who used Alias names 

Patronymics

• Constructing 16th Century Welsh Names 
• Donna Speer Ristenbatt Genealogy / Surnames From Patronymics 
• Dutch Patronymics of the 1600s 
• Forming Finnish Patronymic Names 
• Gareth's Help Page (Technical Words) - Patronymic 
• Jasienica Patronymic Records 
  From Jewish Records Indexing - Poland.
• Patronymics 
• Patronymics - Generational Family Name Changes in 18th Century Germany 
  By Ron Ricklefs, part of the Ricklefs Family Center on the Net.
• Some Common Welsh Surnames & Patronymics 
• Welsh Names and Surnames 
• Welsh Surnames 
• Welsh Surnames 
  From the National Library of Wales.

Publications, Software & Supplies

• Cyndi's List Genealogy Bookstore 
  A categorized list of genealogy research books that looks a lot like my bookshelf at home.

• Amazon.com Genealogy Bookstore - Names 
  The following are individual book titles of interest for this topic. The book links below point to the Amazon.com bookstore online where you may purchase the book if you wish. These links are provided to bring these published resources to your attention as an aid to your research. Follow the links to books of interest to make note of their title, author, publisher, and ISBN. You might then use this information to obtain the book from your local library or your favorite corner book shop.
  • American Given Names : Their Origin and History in the Context of the English Language 
    A book by George Rippey Stewart.
  • American Nicknames: Their Origin and Significance 
    A book by George Earlie Shankle.
  • American Surnames 
    A book by Eldson C. Smith.
  • The Book of Irish Names : First, Family and Place Names 
    A book by Ida Grehan, Ronan Coghlan and P. W. Joyce.
  • Book of Scots-Irish Family Names 
    A book by Robert Bell.
  • Dictionary of English Surnames 
    A book by R. M. Wilson, Percy H. dict Reaney.
  • Dictionary of First Names 
    A book by Patrick Hanks and Flavia Hodges.
  • A Dictionary of Jewish Names and Their History 
    A book by Benzion C. Kaganoff.
  • A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from the Kingdom of Poland 
    A book by Alexander Beider.
  • A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from the Russian Empire 
    A book by Alexander Beider.
  • A Dictionary of Surnames 
    A book by Patrick Hanks and Flavia Hodges.
  • Family Names and Family History 
    A book by David Hey.
  • Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything 
    A book by Steven D. Levitt. Includes studies of modern naming patterns.
  • Handbook of Pseudonyms and Personal Nicknames; First Supplement 
    A book by Harold S. Sharp.
  • History of Christian Names 
    A book by Charlotte M. Yonge.
  • Jewish Family Names and Their Origins : An Etymological Dictionary 
    A book by Heinrich W. & Eva H. Guggenheimer.
  • Jewish First Names 
    A book by David C. Gross.
  • Jewish Surnames in Prague : (15th-18th Centuries) 
    A book by Alexander Beider.
  • Nicknames: Past & Present 
    A book by Christine Rose CG, CGL, FASG.
  • Polish First Names 
    A book by Sophie Hodorowicz Knab.
  • Scottish Surnames 
    A book by David Dorward.
  • The Surnames of Ireland 
    A book by Edward MacLysaght.
• Oxford University Press: Dictionary of American Family Names 
  The most extensive compilation of surnames in the US, edited by Patrick Hanks.

Surnames

• About.com: Genealogy - Glossary of Last Name Meanings & Origins 
  Find meanings, origins, and related genealogy resources for hundreds of surnames from around the world.
• The Relevance of Surnames in Genealogy 
  Society of Genealogists Information Leaflet No. 7.
• Surname Origins Index 
  A collection of surnames defined by either dictionary or family researchers.

Report a Broken Link / Update a Link