What families, surnames, etc., do you find the most interesting, or enjoyed researching the most?

Question

What families, surnames, etc., do you find the most interesting, or enjoyed researching the most?

Answer 1

I have enjoyed my paternal line most. If you're a beginner, it's probably the easiest line to follow when you're still getting to grips with the censuses, so it made more sense at the time. Our surname is also named after a place in England, of which there are three with the same name. I wanted to find out which one my family are from.

My father talked about rising above his station (in society), and how it created more trouble than good with his parents. I wanted to know if our family was always working class (they were, for the past 300 years at least!).

Answer 2

The Hungarians but they're also among the most difficult.  Their language is almost indecipherable to non-Magyars and the country has been through so many wars and governmental changes that a genealogy search is like trying to find a pebble in the sand.

Answer 3

The ones who were written about, or wrote themselves.

I have had the most fun with new American names, when my Dutch ancestors in New Amsterdam had to create a surname to satisfy the English occupation. They wrote, and left records. These became Zabriskie and Blauvelt lines. Another line became Goetschius. Plenty of Presbyterian Scotch were in the mix, too. And they left historical records.

The other family lines are just as important, but since they were illiterate, and didn't write about themselves, and others didn't write about them, I have less information that I can use to understand their lives. So sad. But yet challenging.

Happy hunting.

Answer 4

Whitfield.  This was my grandmother's maiden name.  From the Whitfield's I was able to find other surnames to start searching.  There's also some puzzles with this surname that I'm enjoying tring to figure out.

Answer 5

My own ancestral names.  I have found lots of cousins I never knew I had.

Answer 6

I research the names: Pless, Mason, Roberson, Taylor, Forsyth, Gillespie, Dean, Farmer.

Answer 7

People involved in genealogy do not research surnames.  They research their ancestry and if they are a professional the ancestry of others.  That means they research the person with the name not the name itself.

The same surname can frequently come from more than one national origin.  Not everyone with the same surname are necessarily related or shares ancestors, even those of the same national origin.

Surnames were not taken or assigned in Europe until the last melennium.  Most in England had one by the 14th century.  They were based on a) being the son of someone b) their occupation c) where they lived d)some characteristic about them.

When they got through legitimate sons of the same man could each have a different surname but still they could each share their surname with others with whom they were not related.  I understand it was a few more centuries where the same surname was passed down in the family in a lot of cases.

In the Netherlands, it was during the reign of Napoleon that people took surnames.  They thought it would be temporary and therefore being humorous many gave themselves obnoxious and disgusting names.  Once they realized that they would be permanent they had quite a time getting their names changed.  

Now, before people took surnames, it is very difficult to trace their family trees.  If a person can make connection with a royal or noble family, they have a better chance.