New family history website: Where in the world is he from?

Published on 29/08/2008 21:40

PEOPLE interested in their family history can now find where their relatives have spread around the world by using a public website that maps surnames.

A team of geographers from University College, London, have used data from electoral rolls and telephone directories to map the distribution of 10.8 million last names.

The information, which covers a billion people in 26 countries, shows amateur researchers where different names originated and where families have scattered around the world through migration.

The online maps, which can be found at www.publicprofiler.org/worldnames, also have information on which of 6.5 million forenames are most closely associated with different surnames and lists the top regions and cities for the presence of each last name.