posted 01-01-2002 04:33 PM            

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Family Names and Family History.
David Hey.
Hambeldon and London
ISBN 1 85285 255 0
Price .. not sure .. under £20.

Bought as Xmas present by my wife. This lays open the basics of family names.
Over 400years of research from hundreds of folk has gone into this.
How we love to conect with an interesting past. But, as David says. like all the Americans who trace a lineage back to the Pilgrim Fathers. You would have needed about 20-ships the size of the Titanic (that didn't go down !).
Likewhise conecting with Normans that came over to England in 1066 (not many want to connect with the losing side !). As 'surnames' never really came into usage until the 1250's, and horned themselves over the next 150 years. To have a 'firm'linage before the turn of the 1600's is a mean feat indeed.
Where some names came from is really amazing.
Pity I can't sort my own out !
After reading this book a lot of people will be VERY disappoibted.

posted 01-02-2002 07:06 PM            

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Does it cover more than just English origin names? Latin based, Scandinavian and Germanic?

Erik