The following is a write-up copied from my website. US Map Showing Distribution of 50,000 Surnames in 1850, 1880, 1920 and 1990 (Ed Hamrick) Select a year and type in a surname. A map will appear unless the spelling of the name was not part of the top 50,000 names for that year. Censuses were used for the first three dates, phone books for 1990. Below the map will be important information (first paragraph). Try the next year, and so on. Once you see how it works, choose All Years. The maps will display one after the other so that you will be able to get an impression of migration patterns, if any. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~clifflamere/ It is the first choice in the Map section. Have fun. Cliff