Map Your Name with this Cool Tool
Your surname tells a history of your family. Surnames can generally be traced to an origin point and even though people have migrated to other countries, there are still folks who stayed behind with those surnames and live there today. The creators of MapYourName.com have made it easy to see where your surname originated from and if anything, can give you a small clue on where to start looking if you are not sure of the country of origin for your ancestor. Or you may find some surprising occurances of your surname in another location. It’s a fascianting website that I couldn’t stop playing with. I entered just about every surname in my tree to see it mapped.
Currently, the website uses data from the United States, Australia, and western Europe only. You can even drill down to smaller regions within the country. You can also search for given names to see the distribution of first names and where they are most common.
To use Map Your Name, simply choose Family Name or Personal Name, and enter the name in the box. You will see a drop down list of names to choose from. If your name isn’t there it means that it is not in the database. Once the search is complete, then you can pick which Country/continent you want to look at.
The map appears using graduated colors to indicate the concentration of the name with the A level having the highest and P the lowest. Roll the mouse over the map to see the region name. You can also zoom in and out of the map.
Have fun with MapYourName.com and you may just find a new clue in the search for your ancestors!
