D is for DNA

Posted on April 4, 2026 by Julie Goucher

Courtesy of A-Z 2026

I have written a lot previously about One-Name Studies (If you are new here, welcome! – you can read all the posts about researching surnames HERE).

A number of members of the Guild of One-Name Studies have an associated DNA project that runs alongside their study. I am no exception and have a study with Family Tree DNA (FTDNA) that runs alongside my Orlando One-Name Study. FTDNA are the only company that offers these types of projects, There are also projects based upon geographical regions – Polish and Italian for example and there are also projects that are aligned to those that have Jewish ancestry.

The Orlando project has the Guild logo along side the project name as the following image shows. The link to the Orlando Project can be found HERE

Orlando DNA

There is also a list of other projects where the surname appears, such as Malta and Prussia. The FTDNA Projects mainly focuses on Y-DNA which is passed from father to son. You can also undertake a Family Finder (Autosomal) test, which I have done.  Instead of going back in a father to son method, it goes back and round, effectively its outreach is wider – Cousins etc.

There are also tests available from Ancestry and likewise I have tested there too. Whilst not everyone has a DNA project with their study ,many members do. It enables members to reach out to others with an interest in a particular surname.

Try out Tip – Visit the FTDNA website and scroll half way down the the page to the search surname box. Insert your family surnames and see if there is a DNA Project available. Have you undertaken a DNA test? If not would you? If you are particularly interested in the surname of Orlando, I would be delighted to hear from you.

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C is for Communication

Posted on April 3, 2026 by Julie Goucher

Courtesy of A-Z 2026

The internet has shrunk the world to the size of a matchbox.

It enables us through email or a variety of apps and websites to connect with people we knew from school, university or employment. It also bridges the gap between family and friends. Relationships can to continue, renewed and made online, and that a great thing. We can engage in online learning, from online providers such as Pharos Tutors and the Society of Genealogists, undertake degree courses and professional development. Sure, there are downsides, but used appropriately, I believe the positive outweighs any negatives.

The genealogical world is one that has embraced online opportunities. We can sit at home and access a wide variety of material from indexes to actual images that might relate to our own family history or a wider, bigger project such as a One-Name, or One-Place Study. As part of the development of science and genetics we can take DNA tests and familiarise ourselves with DNA results, whether that is our own, or that which relates to a DNA project.

This enables me to share posts like this one, and more importantly, I can receive comments and I do reply to each one. I find it curious that some sites, whilst sharing information do not openly engage in communication with readers – totally baffling!

Communication is a really important element of being online, enabling us to share experiences, interests and connection with likeminded people. I think it fair to say that genealogy is a hobby that engages with others, at a variety of levels and there is nothing quite like the feeling of excitement at receiving an email from a researcher wondering if a genealogical connection exists.

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B is for Books and Bibliographies

Posted on April 2, 2026 by Julie Goucher

Courtesy of A-Z 2026

The online world has provided the potential for books outside of their copyright to be available to researchers. Those providers offering access FREE are:

……. And, there may well be others. If you know of any please do leave a comment.

In the Introduction to One-Name Studies course, we explore the broad topic of the history of surnames. Do those earlier views by scholars of the times remain true today, or has the understanding evolved? If it has evolved, then the evolution is part of the history to, along with any hypothesis or conclusions drawn. Those researching surnames whose origins are not British, may find there are a mix of similarities with British names and some differences. In which case what drives the similarities and differences, and have they too evolved over time?

Material published previously about specific surnames adds to the history of that surname and are a useful addition to the One-Name Study, regardless of not whether it is registered with the Guild of One-Name Studies

Whether or not the books are available as free downloads or are texts still in print and copyright, they very likely contain a bibliography within the confines of the latter pages. Those bibliographies are incredibly useful as they provide opportunities for further considerations and research. One resource worthy of visiting is Modern British Surnames which is hosted by the Guild of One-Name Studies. The resource is the work of a former member, the late Philip Dance, and you can read about it HERE and how the site came to be relocated. Part of that resource is a Bibliography which can be found HERE. Whilst the title of the site is Modern British Surnames, it does contain information and resource relating the globalisation of surnames.

The online providers linked above, provide opportunities for site users to create accounts, enabling the creation of some form of book collections. To access the Hathi Trust you generally need to be registered with a partnered organisation. If that is not possible, you can sign up as a Friend of the University of Michigan, which is offered FREE of charge and having done so you can login to the books available. You can create collections and make the collections public or private as you wish.  To register as a friend of the University of Michigan click HERE (this is available to all, not just those in the United States).  I am in the process of adding material to my collections which can be found HERE and I will add the link to this site (either under Surname Research or Links) so stay tuned for details!

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A is for Research Aims

Posted on April 1, 2026 by Julie Goucher

Courtesy of A-Z 2026

I was not sure that I was going to take part in the A-Z Challenge this year, but suddenly found myself on the sign up page and thought as it was still possible to sign up that I would.

Over the years I have written about aims of surname studies, but this year I am going to share a more varied approach. 

Our research needs to account for something, that means that there should be some plan at least, do we want to have a website, write a book, write blog posts, inspire people, or perhaps a combination of all of those, otherwise, we might just as well not bother.

My aims are at this point about ensuring that I have a sound database of material, properly sourced, all my references cited and my to do list up to date and for it to be accessible. My surname projects, are destined for a website, that provides the opportunity for others to view and find something of use for their research.

My current plan remains to dispose of the volumes of paper once I have added the material to my database. As part of that I am having a restructure of my digital files, with those that relate to individuals filed using the number that is allocated as soon as that individual is added to my genealogical software. Whilst that does not sound remarkable, it is a such a basic concept that I actually had not thought of it. I gave it a test drive and feel fairly content. All I now need to do is be more productive during the day, then by the time I am 102 I might have dumped all the paper! I know that I am likely to talk about this filing structure during the month, complete with images…

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Medieval Links

Posted on January 27, 2026 by Julie Goucher

A little earlier in the week, I held the first tutorial of the latest Introduction to One-Name Studies course. The topic of researching in the Middles Ages came up and we shared a number of links:

Medieval Genealogy – https://medievalgenealogy.org.uk (the site does give a security flag, but it is perfectly safe, I used it last night!

Medieval Soldiers Database – https://www.medievalsoldier.org/database/

Someone shared the Gascon Rolls – gasconrolls.org

There are also these projects that are worth exploring:

Henry III 1216-1272 Fine Rolls – https://frh3.org.uk

Inquisitions Post Mortems, Mapping Medieval Countryside, Properties, Places and People – https://inquisitionspostmortem.ac.uk/
This project has a wide range of information 1236-1509
The online digital edition at the link above, using the browse functions covers 1422-1432
This link https://inquisitionspostmortem.ac.uk/browse/people/a/ covers the period of 1399-1447

For these early periods, surnames were not standardised, and the following of an individual found in one record and descendants in another is unlikely. However, search for your surname and see what pops, you might also need to search for possible variants. For Butcher there is limited results, but there are plenty of BOCHER results. I have not registered Bocher as a variant, but I do gather them as I see them. When I find one Bocher and the same individual becomes Butcher, then I will likely register the variant. We will talk about variants in the tutorial for lesson 2.

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Robert Burns and Burns Night (3)

Posted on January 25, 2026 by Julie Goucher

This post concludes the mini series of Robert Burns and Burns Night – Part 1 and Part 2

I couldn’t write about Burns Night, or a Scottish surname without writing about Clans and Tartans, even if it is in a limited way. Upon searching the site, Clans.com for the surname BURNS, it revealed 11 such tartans. Each tartan subsequently identified three different pallets – Reproduction, Modern and Ancient. Upon selecting one of the Tartans, Robert Burns Legacy (Robert ‘Rabbie’ Burns) Tartan you can see the slight variation to the colour in the image below.

Screen capture of Robert Burns Legacy Tartan, courtesy of the Clans.com website – accessed 25 Jan 2024

The Scottish Register for Tartans recorded 14 results when I searched the site for BURNS, and you can see those results HERE.

The subject of Tartans, Clans and Septs is an interesting one and I will write about those in the coming months.

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Robert Burns and Burns Night (2)

Posted on January 25, 2026 by Julie Goucher

Having written the earlier post about Burns Night (Burns Night Part 1), I realised that I had not explored the surname more fully. I don’t have time to create a significant post, but did want to share a few things with you, as I was quite surprised.

I headed to Forebears.io and looked at the distribution of the surname BURNS for 1881 – direct link to the data HERE

Distribution Map from Forebears.io for 1881 – Surname of BURNS

 

Place Incidence Frequency Rank in Area
England 13,287 1:1,835 242
Scotland 6,563 1:570 89
Wales 323 1:4,856 334
Isle of Man 27 1:2,010 260
Guernsey 11 1:2,969 521
Jersey 1 1:51,882 3,898

The map shows that in 1881 there were no instances of the surname anywhere but the United Kingdom. There are some anomalies here.

The data does refers to Great Britain which is England, Wales and Scotland. Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey are not the part of Great Britain or the UK, but they are Crown Dependencies.

The results show there were more that double instances of England than in Scotland.

There is some data for 1880, which is only for the United States, but if you look at the distribution map and click the actual map, it does populate each state – Check this out HERE

The site also provides some data for 1901, with only Ireland being shown. At this point, Ireland was one country.

Place Incidence Frequency Rank in Area
Ireland 7,394 1:599 86

There is no further historical data, what is available from the site is relative to the Census data. As you might expect by 2014, which is the other date that provides data, the distribution map shows the surname is more widespread.

Distribution Map from Forebears.io for 2014 – Surname of BURNS

The data for 2014 shows the distribution across the most incidences for the top 10 locations, and you can click the link to see more data

Place Incidence Frequency Rank in Area
United States 221,560 1:1,636 131
England 34,808 1:1,601 179
Australia 23,318 1:1,158 117
Canada 17,125 1:2,152 236
Scotland 11,211 1:478 55
Northern Ireland 4,752 1:388 33
Ireland 4,304 1:1,094 218
New Zealand 2,845 1:1,592 196
South Africa 2,562 1:21,147 2,680
Wales 1,326 1:2,334 254

Looking at surname distribution is one of the elements of the Introduction to One-Name Studies course – The latest course has just started, but if you click the link above you can be added to the list for information on the next start date.

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Robert Burns and Burns Night (1)

Posted on January 25, 2026 by Julie Goucher

Robert Burns, 1759 – 1796

This is a rather long post, which I have split into three parts.

Across the globe, thousands of people with Scottish Heritage celebrate the birth of the Scottish Poet Robbie Burns on 25 January. The first Burns supper was hosted by the Burns Club on 29 January 1802 which was thought to be the poet’s birthday, however, a search of the Ayr parish records revealed that he was born on 25 January.

Traditionally there is a Burns Supper of Haggis, Neep and Tatties to celebrate the event.

The formal supper starts with a welcome and announcements then the Selkirk Grace.

Selkirk is one of the oldest towns in the Borders of Scotland. The Grace itself is a prayer and said before a meal. Here is the prayer in both Scottish and English translation:

Some hae meat and canna eat,
And some wad eat that want it,
But we hae meat and we can eat,
Sae let the Lord be thankit.

Some have food and cannot eat,
And some would eat that lack it,
But we have food and we can eat,
So let God be thanked.

After the Grace everyone stands as the Haggis is carried into the room to the sound of bagpipes. The Haggis is laid at the hosts table and then there is the cutting of the Haggis and the famous poem “Address to a Haggis” is read.

Fair fa’ your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o’ the puddin-race!
Aboon them a’ ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy o’ a grace
As lang’s my arm.

The groaning trencher there ye fill,
Your hurdies like a distant hill,
Your pin wad help to mend a mill
In time o’ need,
While thro’ your pores the dews distil
Like amber bead.

His knife see rustic Labour dicht,
An’ cut you up wi’ ready slicht,
Trenching your gushing entrails bricht,
Like ony ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sicht,
Warm-reekin, rich!

Then, horn for horn, they stretch an’ strive:
Deil tak the hindmaist! on they drive,
Till a’ their weel-swall’d kytes belyve,
Are bent like drums;
Then auld Guidman, maist like to rive,
“Bethankit” hums.

Is there that o’re his French ragout
Or olio that wad staw a sow,
Or fricassee wad mak her spew
Wi’ perfect scunner,
Looks down wi’ sneering, scornfu’ view
On sic a dinner?

Poor devil! see him ower his trash,
As feckless as a wither’d rash,
His spindle shank, a guid whip-lash,
His nieve a nit;
Thro’ bloody flood or field to dash,
O how unfit!

But mark the Rustic, haggis fed,
The trembling earth resounds his tread.
Clap in his wallie nieve a blade,
He’ll mak it whistle;
An’ legs an’ arms, an’ heads will sned,
Like taps o’ thristle.

Ye Pow’rs wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o’ fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinkin ware
That jaups in luggies;
But, if ye wish her gratefu’ prayer,

Gie her a haggis!

At the end of the poem there is a whisky toast to the Haggis. Then the meal is consumed.

The meal itself is Haggis served with mashed potato known as tatties and mashed neep which are turnip if you are in Scotland or Suede if you are south of the border!

When the meal reaches the coffee stage there is a toast to the Monarch . After the meal an “Immortal Memory” takes place. This is usually a speech on the life and poetry works of Robert Burns and the evening concludes with the singing of Auld Lang Syne.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne* ?

CHORUS: 
For auld lang syne, 
my jo, for auld lang syne, 
we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet, 
for auld lang syne.

And surely ye’ll be your pint-stowp !
and surely I’ll be mine !
And we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

Ready cooked Haggis

Haggis can be found in most super markets here in the UK. They are usually found on the fresh meat counters and can be frozen. I routinely have at least two in the freezer. They do need defrosting before cooking.

Haggis can be cooked in a variety of ways

  1. Haggis can be cooked on the hob, in a pan of boiled water. As soon as the water boils reduce the heat and add the Haggis, with the water simmering it takes around an hour.
  2. Haggis can also be cooked in the oven, remove from the plastic casing and wrap in tin foil. Place the Haggis into an oven proof dish with a little water and cook, usually for around an hour.
  3. Haggis can also be cooked via the microwave, I usually remove the outer plastic and skin, and don’t forget the metal clips at the ends! Cut the Haggis into small segments and cook on full power. Length of time will vary depending on your microwave.

Haggis Pie

Cook Suede and Potatoes
Haggis cooked for about 3 minutes in the microwave (mine is 900w)
Cut Haggis into sections and place in bottom of a dish, I use a Lasagne dish
Mash Suede and place on top of Haggis
Mash potato and place on top of Suede.
Place in Oven for (mine is fan assisted) so 20 minutes until nice and brown.

Wee Beestie!

Cook Haggis and break into bits with a fork.
Serve on a bed of mashed potato and mashed suede (neep)
cover with cheese sauce and a light dusting of black pepper to taste

Haggis is available in most supermarkets in the UK, either as fresh, or in some cases tinned – our preference is for the fresh.

For those residing in Scotland there is ready meal of Haggis, Tattie and Neep available all year round, they even make a larger portion for the big night itself. We can vouch for the ready meal, and no trip to Scotland is complete until we have picked up some to bring home!

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Fabulous Virtual Family History Show – Hosted by East Surrey FHS

Posted on January 23, 2026 by Julie Goucher

The Guild of One-Name Studies will be at the virtual stand at this event hosted by East Surrey FHS. If you are curious about One-Name Studies, or surname research, please drop by and see us. FREE to attend, but you do need to register, to do so visit the East Surrey FHS 

Copyright East Surrey FHS & Guild of ONS 2026

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Introduction to One-Name Studies Course (901)

Posted on January 19, 2026 by Julie Goucher

Copyright  – Julie Goucher, 2018

Remarkably, researching surnames is seen as a very niche topic, despite the vast majority of people having one (FN1).

Our individual family histories are littered with surnames. Hopefully all different ones, though if your ancestors like my maternal line, they lived within the same 30 mile radius for 300 years, crossing the borders of Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire. As a consequence I have multiple occurrences of the same surname, nearly all of which do connect, even if a generation back, or individuals to the side of my direct ancestors.

The Introduction to One-Name Studies course is as you might expect, an introduction. It introduces students to consider each surname of their individual choosing, looking at the elements of Origins, size of a study, organising a study and considerations of software use and so forth. If you are interested, then look no further, as the Introduction course starts today, Monday 19 January, and there are a few spots left.

Members of the Guild of One-Name Studies can avail themselves of a discount, the code is to be found in the members area here (members ensure you are logged in), whilst non-members who have purchased the course receive complimentary membership for the first year, subject to completing the online form, the link to which is provided within the Pharos forum.

For more information and to sign up visit the Pharos website.

FN1 – the country which does not use surnames is Iceland.

Posted in Introduction to One-Name Studies (Pharos course 901), One-Name Studies | Leave a comment