Surname information

Anybody any know any sites where you can get information and/or history about a family surname? I've googled for this but all the sites are dud and money grabbing. Any body know any good free sites which give you surname information?

N.B. Green rep up for grabs

[Chris]

A quick google for 'history of surnames' yielded this:

http://surnames.behindthename.com/

Looks promising to me.

OT - why did you change your username?

Thanks Chris

Well I don't like the nickname 'Macca' anymore, it reminds me of school where everyone used to call me that because my surname is Mcxxxxxx and I hated school and it reminds me of it everytime I see the word. At college everyone calls me Paul anyway so I just wanted to get rid of the Macca and get it out of the way...

Couldn't have 'Paul' because there already is one, couldn't have 'Paul M' because there already is one too and Paul Mcxxxxx is too long,

Btw, that site has none of my other family names on it Thanks anyway

[Maggy J]

Originally Posted by Chris T

A quick google for 'history of surnames' yielded this:

http://surnames.behindthename.com/

Looks promising to me.

OT - why did you change your username?

Well I stumped that site. It's never heard of the Messenbird clan.

didnt find mine either. Doesnt look like it contains many names

http://www.infokey.com/hon/

Quite a good one there. Tells you some basic information for free and you can also buy a scroll with your family coat of arms and more detailed name information.

[Maggy J]

Originally Posted by Diamond

http://www.infokey.com/hon/

Quite a good one there. Tells you some basic information for free and you can also buy a scroll with your family coat of arms and more detailed name information.

Another one that can do nothing with my old maiden name of Messenbird.Another reason not to approach the sites that want payment.I'd be wasting my money.

As I know there is a whole clan of them here down on the south coast I'm rather peeved.However I would like to know if there are any more in the universe because I can't see that we just sprung from nowhere.

[alferret]

Originally Posted by Diamond

http://www.infokey.com/hon/

Quite a good one there. Tells you some basic information for free and you can also buy a scroll with your family coat of arms and more detailed name information.

LOL that sites a joke I put my surname in and it came back with

The BRYER's of France
&
The BRYER's of the Scottish English Border Ridings

My surname is Germanic in origin, my aunt has a BA with honours in geneology and our family has been traced back over 450 years.

Still its nice to see that the Yanks are exploiting themselves still That site is for those Americans that feel lonely cause they can only trace their own ancestry back 200 years or so and it gives them a glimmer of European ancestral royalty with their coat of arms etc...

[bopdude]

Originally Posted by alferret

English Border Ridings

My surname is Germanic in origin, my aunt has a BA with honours in geneology and our family has been traced back over 450 years.


Still its nice to see that the Yanks are exploiting themselves still That site is for those Americans that feel lonely cause they can only trace their own ancestry back 200 years or so and it gives them a glimmer of European ancestral royalty with their coat of arms etc...

450 years is some time but I did a quicky and it came back with this .....

Originally Posted by infokey

The Palmer family can trace their ancestors back to the ancient territories of England between the 11th and 12th centuries.</I>

Originally Posted by infokey

That from very early on the Palmer family not only held lands and estates in England but were also actively allied with other influential families. They also branched out into other territories and holdings, before taking the long voyage to the new world.

My mum always said something about " blue blood " in the line somewhere, lady in waiting to queen whoever

Think that our American friends would like that, but they have their roots as long as they remember they came from a bunch of immigrants, no slur intended

[BBKing]

they came from a bunch of immigrants, no slur intended

Oi, so do we In my case, three out of four grandparents and one parent were born outside the country. One great-grandmother was born in Danzig.

Rather amusingly, there used to be an ntl eminence grise called Blumenthal, which is the name that comes down from my German side. I often wondered if we were related, though given his reputation, possibly not. Never got the chance to ask him.

Incognitas - Messenbird sounds like anglicised German, like the royal family did with Battenburg/Mountbatten. Messenburg is a German name, it's a place in the former East I think.

[Ramrod]

[QUOTE=Diamond]http://www.infokey.com/hon/

The ******* family can trace their ancestors back to the ancient territories of Germany between the 11th and 12th centuries

It actually got that correct!

[Maggy J]

Originally Posted by BBKing

Oi, so do we In my case, three out of four grandparents and one parent were born outside the country. One great-grandmother was born in Danzig.

Rather amusingly, there used to be an ntl eminence grise called Blumenthal, which is the name that comes down from my German side. I often wondered if we were related, though given his reputation, possibly not. Never got the chance to ask him.

Incognitas - Messenbird sounds like anglicised German, like the royal family did with Battenburg/Mountbatten. Messenburg is a German name, it's a place in the former East I think.

Yep we have already figured that much.Made sense in view of two world wars with Germany. However the family history does go back some way before that.My uncle did actually trace us back as far a a pig farmer in the 17th century but whatever info or documents he had were never found by my other uncle when he died.

However I'm very suspicious about paying someone else to research on my behalf and I just don't really have the time,money,patience to go about a painstaking search.Just trying to find enough info to get a passport about my parents,grandparents as most of the Births,Deaths and Marriage registration offices had moved,closed or possibly bombed out.If I hadn't had access to the documents I'd never have pieced it together so trying to go further back without the earlier documents... I admire anyone who sets out to find their origins because it isn't that easy unless someone has kept all the family documents scrupulously.

Incog.