Most of your names are patronymics. In simple terms, that means that they are the father's *first* name with son/sen tacked on for males, or dotter/datter for females. These patronymics gradually got "frozen" into what we would consider real surnames. But I would say that the dates you are looking at are mostly too early for "real" surnames using son/sen. On top of that, you don't even tell us which country, much less area or exact parish. Without that there's zero chance that you will get any information from anyone. Ruth Ann Allan Bruse wrote: <snip> > Thanks to a lister on another list, I've recomenced my search and am > researching the following names: > > BAHNSEN 1750 - 1850 > BRUSE (or BRUESE) 1750 - 1850 > CHRISTIANSEN C1800 > SONNICHSEN C1800 >