This web site may have a use in the geography classroom – if nothing else, it could be a bit of fun in a spare lesson moment.
It has been developed as part of a project by geographers at UCL, and allows you to type in a surname, and then view a map showing where this name is most popular in the UK.
Any ideas on how this might be used?
Many Anglo Saxon family names came into common usage between the 12th and 14th centuries, and some 700 years later are still associated with certain localities. It might be interesting to explore the locations thrown up by this web site for some of our old craft industries – a bit of historical geography.
How about migration? Could we try studying the different map patterns for names imported from abroad over the last 60 years? Many of these will probably still concentrate on our major cities, but may also show how these names have dispersed across the UK as migrants assimilate into UK society.