Registering a ONS

The "Guild" section of this website has details of how you can register a surname with the Guild. It also lists the criteria the Registrar will use when assessing an application for registering a surname.

The Guild does not recommend that new members register a surname and start a study unless they are already experienced in the principles of general family history research, and have already collected a reasonable body of data on the surname. Our recommendation for applicants wishing to register a surname is to have made a significant start on collecting data relating to the name as shown in registration recommendations. This will have established the likely size and geographical extent of the study, and what the likely variants of the chosen name are.

From this basis it is hoped that, over the course of their membership of the Guild, their registered One-Name Study will be extended and developed to cover as wide a field of data as is practicable, as outlined in registration objectives.