How common is your surname?

[reynardo]

This site gives you a look at which countries have the greatest concentration of people with the surname you enter. We have one in our background that is fairly uncommon, and it looks like the majority of them are in Nova Scotia, of all places!

Yes, you need to give an email address. (I don't think it has to be a real one though)

Comments

[loganberrybunny.livejournal.com]

My own family name is about the least common in my family, and that throws up no surprises at all. Dull, that's us. =:P

And the ol' me@privacy.net seemed to work fine.

[moxie_man]

No big surprises on the top two: France & Canada. Father's side of the family originated in France. One member settled in Quebec. Offspring moved back to France...their offspring moved back to Quebec and so on until the turn of the last century as they moved into Maine looking for work in the mills.

The family apparently became prolific after moving to Canada as there's more of them there than in France now.

Surprise: Fifth "top city" is Brunswick, Maine
Fifth "top region" is Stratford District, New Zealand. New Zealand?!?

[freyaw.livejournal.com]

My family name, a quite common one, is MORE common in areas where I have family with other surnames than it is here.

[frou-frou.livejournal.com]

thank you; that's a fun site.

I started with Jenkins and got the predictable response, then tried my grandma's name Kauter - it was pleasing to see it does originate in the Rhine Valley like she did and then I got the same response with my other grandma's name, Blue = Glasgow (her home town) despite being found all over the world now.

"They'll be hanging the dwarf life on stage..."

[mr-figgy.livejournal.com]

Top countries: UK, Australia, New Zealand... Canada. Big disparity between first and fourth. Guess where the place-name originates?

[nimrod-9.livejournal.com]

My surname is only in the US. Not surprising since it was invented at Ellis Island. Whether the Swede coming in didn't know how to spell (or know English) or the guy processing him said 'yeah right' and made up his own spelling idk.

[panacea1.livejournal.com]

Same here, which means they've got incomplete data, because a family member visited France (where the name is ostensibly from) and found it, only with diacritical marks that didn't carry over. Since the family member doesn't speak French, they neglected to note which diacritical marks those are...

[http://www.google.com/profiles/Atwasi (from livejournal.com)]

My surname is very rare, I actually know half the people the site comes up with ^^ No kidding