This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/3dB.2ACI/6180.2 Message Board Post: One way to check the origin of a name is to use the LDS database: http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/frameset_search.asp Enter the surname of interest and note the various spellings, locations, and dates. If you just enter the surname, you cannot specify any other field, but if you enter a common given name, such as John, you can then specify country of birth and dates. By specifying a year, then making the range plus or minus 20 years, you can go back 40 years at a time and see where the name came from as you go back in time. Or start around 1500 and work your way forward. Diana