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What is the story behind your last name? Discover how your DNA can uncover your family story! Discover ancestors you never knew you had! How can you do this?
Geni has a feature called Surname. This feature is found under the Research tab at the top of your screen Surnames.
Surnames are fascinating on their own, but when you combine your surname with your DNA results, you can discover much more about your ancestors.
DNA: more input here
Surnames: more input here too
A surname is part of your personal name that is passed from either or both parents to their offspring. The format for surnames changes from region to region over time. In most Western nations the surname occurs at the end of a personal name,while some East Asian countries place the surname before given names.
In most regions and time periods, surnames were assumed based on descent from a male ancestor (usually the father). In some regions, offspring took their mother's surname. Also, historically some families used family or house names that are considered different from surnames. Examples include royal houses, such as Plantagenet or Carolingian.
Surnames arose through history as a useful means to distinguish people in written records, particularly tax records.
Patronymic Surnames
Matronymic Surnames
Occupational Surnames
Topographical Surnames
Root Spelling of a Surname and Grouping of Variations
Some surnames can have many variations. To help explore and expand your tree with profiles who have different variation of your surname, all the variations can be regrouped under one page, the page of the root of the surname.
For example, the name Morel has hundreds of variations. "Morel" can be considered the root spelling in that it is one of the simplest forms among all variations and one that is widely used. Therefore, all variations are regrouped under the Morel page.