This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/ReC.2ACI/2756.1 Message Board Post: Hi Tania, I suggest you spend a few moments at IGI searching and you will discover that the surname “Bichan” is predominantly from Scotland within its database of the UK. Try the searches yourself using the surname alone and select British Isles then England, Ireland and Scotland one at a time and see…. http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/frameset_search.asp?PAGE=igi/search_IGI.asp&clear_form=true I did not try other countries around the globe but you could………. To make sure there are not larger concentrations elsewhere, earlier in time. But in the UK I’d say Scotland is the largest on that exact spelling. (Ireland is a scratch) ** Further: At ScotlandsPeople (the government site) we see the following distribution of the surname across time: http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/ Free Surname Search Results re “Bichan” Search Count Census 1861 67 Census 1871 56 Census 1881 74 Census 1891 88 Census 1901 113 Old Parish Records Births & Christenings 1553 - 1854 102 Old Parish Records Banns & Marriages 1553 - 1854 32 Statutory Register Births 1855 - 1904 130 Statutory Register Marriages / Banns 1855 - 1929 82 Statutory Register Deaths 1855 - 1954 153 Wills & Testaments 1513 - 1901 10 == Not a lot of people but significant still the same and definitely not all spelling mistakes or mis-transcriptions. ** Hope that helps a wee bit. Regards, Larry