Part of genealogy is to discover how your surname was derived and how it was used to identify your family line. In Europe for example, surnames were never really used, only up until the 12 century did the use of a surname begin to take place, however, it did take several centuries before most Europeans had one. As European populations began to grow the need for a surname to identify individuals came into being. By the 13 century a total of one third of the population had the name, John, William or Richard. Without actually realising it the practice of genealogy began to take on a whole different dimension.

Most European names were a direct result of actual trades or names that heads of the family worked at or had. For instance if your fathers name was Andrew and your name was William, you were given the surname Anderson, which would be seen as you are the son of Andrew, therefore, your name would be William Anderson. If your fathers name was William and he happened to be a cook your surname would have been Cook. This form of genealogy with regards to surname identification was not solely restricted to the type of work your father did. Special characteristics that your father may have had like, long flowing brown hair may have resulted in your surname being Brown (William the Brown-haired, leading to Brown). Surnames were ultimately inherited and past on from generation to generation, ideal if your passion is genealogy, making it easier to trace your family heritage.

Surnames have always been the ideal start for someone interested in genealogy. Surnames can be categorised into 4 general directions. Surnames were derived most often from the male ancestor, known as patronymic include names such as Anderson, Johnson, Jameson and Thompson (son of). Occupational surnames were generally used by the working class citizens of Europe and include names like, Smith, Butler, Wright, Barber and Clark. Thirdly, geographically your surname may have been Hills, Woods or even Rivers. And Lastly, your surname may have been ‘nickname’ orientated such as, White, Long or Young. Taking this information into account your genealogy journey may take you, or lead you to some interesting findings about your past heritage.

Over time and due to different dialects and eventually as a result of different languages, surnames developed and changed over time into many different variants of the original family name. If your genealogy adventures come to a grinding halt as a result, it may be wise to investigate certain derivatives of your surname. Many Europeans in the 19^th century that made the journey to America deliberately anglicised their surnames, to make entry as easy as possible, so names such as Micsza became McShea and Schwarz became Black.

To the untrained genealogist, trying to uncover the history of a particular surname many be a daunting task, however, keeping in mind that everyone has a history and a distinct heritage unique only to them, will encourage most to pursue their genealogy travels and eventually discover who they and where they come from.