How do I register my one-name study?

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How do I register my one-name study?

Subject to Registration requirements and certain constraints, after joining, you may register initially one surname and up to five variants. Subsequently you may then register one or two more surnames, bringing the number registered to you up to the maximum of three names. For each surname you register, you pay a once-only Registration Fee.

Make sure that any variants you wish to include are true variants and not just transient clerical alternative spellings (what some call "deviants"). (See the page on "Variants and Deviants" which gives the Guild's position on these terms.) True variants should have been derived from the original source and then continued as inherited surnames to the present day. If there are more than five variants, choose the commonest five in current usage.

All surname registration requests are carefully scrutinised by the Registrar, who may accept the registration of the proposed study surname and variants, or ask the member to consider altering the request in some way, or, rarely, refuse to accept the application for some stated reason. In these matters the Registrar's decision is final. If a surname registration were to be declined, the fee would be returned.

A Registration Application Form is available in the Members Room, or you can request one to be posted to you by the Registrar. Note that only the Registrar can advise on the availability of surnames for registration. Write via Box G, 14 Charterhouse Buildings, Goswell Road, London EC1M 7BA, England, or email to .

Your study name and variants registered with the Guild and your contact details (postal address and email/web addresses if you have them) will then appear in the Register of One-Name Studies. This circulates widely in its paper and online versions, amongst genealogists of all kinds, not just one-namers. This enables those with an interest in your registered surname to contact you. It is also an excellent resource for you to find people who are interested in the other surnamces that occur in your study.

When you apply to register a surname, we will ask you to agree in writing to the following two conditions:

You must agree to collect all references to your registered surname(s) on a worldwide basis, and strive towards the goal of establishing a substantial body of worldwide data, in particular for countries where the name is relatively significant and where sources are readily available. A study restricted to one country, part of a country, or the descendants of a particular individual, does not meet our criteria.
You must agree to deal with all reply-paid enquiries and emails that you receive relating to your registered surname(s).

We would ask those interested in registering a surname to consider seriously whether they have the commitment and resources, especially of time, either individually or as a member of a group, to gather, store and collate the necessary material and to respond to a possible multitude of enquiries.

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