The origin of more than 45,000 surnames has been revealed by a team of university researchers. Farah, Twelvetrees and Li are amongst the 8,000 family names explained for the first time, alongside ...

In most societies, surnames are passed on from father to son, just like the Y chromosome. This suggests that men who share the same surnames may have Y chromosomes that are related to one another. A ...

Researchers have shown that men with the same British surname are highly likely to be genetically linked. The results of the research have implications in the fields of forensics, genealogy, ...

In most societies surnames are transmitted from father to child, just like Y-chromosome genes. In this way, an analysis of the geographic diffusion of surnames can provide accurate estimates of ...

Earlier this month, Slate published an article I wrote about the origin and meanings of Ashkenazic Jewish surnames on its Lexicon Valley blog. The reaction, frankly, was overwhelming. I am both ...

Looking into the origin of Black surnames reveals a very complex narrative. The cliché is that African enslaved people didn’t have surnames until they gained freedom, and then they took the name of ...

They stem from Scotland, but are spread right across the globe - and no less so than in the North East, where they didn't have far to travel. Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Shields ...