Surname Locator

30% of surnames derive from place-names. If yours is one, explore the historical distribution of your surname across the UK and beyond.

Our place-name interpreter may help uncover the meaning behind your surname. Our interpreter breaks down surname elements using place-name linguistics, early usage references, and rare 19th-century dictionaries — including exclusive entries from a Victorian Cornish place-name glossary.

Surname Maps

Search our geo-referenced census data, tithe apportionments, and 19th-century mapping overlays. Visualize where your ancestors were concentrated.

Ancient Ancestors: British Ancient Habitats
Use the search from below to discover the places the Ancient People of Britain Lived and Worked:
  • 🪨 Prehistoric Britain – Stone Circles & Hillforts
  • 🏛️ Roman Britain – Forts, Roads & Villas
  • ⚔️ Anglo-Saxon & Viking Period – Burials, Settlements
  • 🏰 Medieval Castles, Abbeys & Manors
  • 👑 Tudor & Stuart Britain – Politics, Reformation
  • 🚂 Victorian to WW2 – Industrial Growth & Conflict
To find castles, churches, stone circles or treasure findspots, enter a UK location or use your current location.

Area to search within:


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Cornish Place Names
DNA Connections

Enter your Y-DNA or mtDNA haplogroup to reveal the historic regions your genetic ancestors came from. View timelines, migration maps, and regional clustering — all cross-referenced with archaeological and genealogical data.

Disclaimer: GeoAncestry.com is not affiliated with Ancestry.com. While we respect and endorse their work, they have not endorsed ours.

GeoAncestry.com was created by Chris Kutler, who spent 18 years as a senior member of the Research & Development team at The National Archives, Kew. His work focused on genealogical data, exception reporting, and identifying historical record patterns — making this project a lifelong culmination of expertise.