Created by Julie Goucher, 2018

I am always amazed at the number of genealogists who are surprised or curious about the concept of One-Name studies. 

Broadly speaking, we all have a surname. It might be one we were given at birth, one that was “given” to us, through adoption, one that came to us via marriage, or perhaps, if we are being individualistic, and have a surname that is a compound name; essentially this is one that typically exists through the joining of two surnames, though the name itself usually does not have any “history” to it.

There are also hyphenated names, names that appear as middle names, that are surnames, giving a nod to a former generation. The opportunity for research is wonderfully exciting, regardless of how you have acquired your surname.

There is also, for Italian families, surnames that are known as Detto’s. This is where a nickname is given to an individual, but instead of it being connected to one individual, this continues to further generations. I have one in my own family, the name Magro Malosso, the true surname is Malosso,

Given how much variation there is around the way we have surnames, we should not be surprised that there are recognisable types of surnames, and all studies are completely different. We cannot compare apples to bananas, but we can compare apples to apples!

In the case of surname studies they are all different – different aims, different starting places, different statistical information. Essentially anything goes!