Why is it so hard to find information about my last name on the internet?

Question

my last name is Caamaño, I'm Chilean and I want to know what its origin.

Most people tell me that its rare, is this true?

Answer 1

simple reality, my friend.. right or wrong, it is true that the majority of genealogical research focuses on US, UK.   There tend to be more computers used.  Please don't take that as any criticism of Chile, or anywhere else.  Not meant that way. I imagine that persons in other countries might be amazed at how "we" take the internet for granted.

Another factor is whatever actual resources there are in Chile. What is used for genealogy are vital records, which (depending on the area) are something that perhaps were not kept in Chile.

The other factor is not limited to your country. If you think about it, surnames have no history of their own.. except when speaking of an origin.  History is about the individual persons, who happen to have any name.  In order to know about YOUR ancestry, it is necessary to think in terms of finding actual persons.

Many surnames go "back" a long way.  For the US (and perhaps other countries), we have names that are NOT the original.. but somehow got altered after immigration.  So.. if someone is not aware of this fact.. they can look until they are silly, and find nothing before (say) 1800.  This would be due to the reality that the name as they know it.. did NOT exist prior to that time.

I have never heard your name before, but that is meaningless. One would have to look at sources in Chile, to have some ideas to the rarity.  As mentioned above.. it MIGHT be due to it being a variation.  The tone of it suggests Hispanic origins (Spain).. but that is common for any country in South America.

Answer 2

I tried for years to find any information about my last name with no luck. Then one day I met on line a lady that was kin and explained to me why.  In 1777 my last name was not spelled the same. My ancestors are from Germany and when they came to America they shortened the name.  Now I have the family crest and all the information I need.  My name is very rare too. Try  Family.com , rootsweb.com or google.  Good Luck.

Answer 3

i don't know if it's a rare name or not.  what i do know is that the spelling of peoples names tend to change when going from one country to another...even today. so i suggest you ask some of your oldest relatives about the subject at hand. the best part will be all of the extra info you gain on your family from many generations back.

good luck!

Answer 4

well, if u cant find info on it even on internet, must be...

Answer 5

Probably... I tried to find the origins of my last name, there is a singer or something in Finland with it and bunch of girls that think they are married to him! I had to talk with my grandmother about it. There were some root words to it and I found out the meaning. I didn't speak finnish that well, so maybe try and get a native speaker to explain it to you and they may have a better understanding.

Answer 6

Caamano  Last name origin & meaning:

Galician (Caamaño): habitational name from either of two places called Caamaño, both in A Coruña province

Galicia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galicia_(Sp...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Coru%C3%B...

Answer 7

If you leave some information about your self on internet it become easer to find you,I think  it's just related to  search engine not any thing else