Thank you for your thoughts, Valerie. Mine, too, with the addition of merchants who sold surplices. My OED suggests the word of middle English origin. OF and fr roots refer to a covering over a coat of fur customarily worn in churches in northern countries. A good idea in those damp and drafty old stone churches. GL Radcliff at your site did a search earlier. While he said the word goes back to middle English as a robe, usually of fur, the history or origins of the word used as a surname wasn't found. In the free BMD index I found the surname used in the 1600's. John Surplice was married to an Elizabeth Jude whose family has an extensive tree listed in Ancestry.com. I don't know if he is any relation to me; I just wanted to see how far back I could find the name used. No further links came up nor were children listed. There are a number of Surplices listed on British sites in the late 19th and early 20th centuries who were active in government and military positions. It would seem not an unusual name in Great Britian while it is uncommon in the United States. I do not know of any outside of my small branch. My father's generation was the last of the sons in our family. Any further information about this name or family lines would be enthusiasticly recieved at [email protected] Thank you, Mary Surplice Russell