I began researching my family history in 1970's. Some years later I became interested in name origins and decided to register the surname UNSTEAD with the Guild of One-Name Studies. In essence, the studies are about collecting and analysing information relating to one surname or its variant wherever found. The surname Unstead is an unusual one. Seldom if ever can it be found in a book of surnames and is thought to be of Anglo - Saxon origin. My One-Name Study focuses on a collection of Unstead birth, marriage, death's, and other data to establish a basic linkage between the various Unstead family branches. Variations of the surname include: Hunsted, Unsted – without the 'a', Unsteed, Unstedd, Ounstead, Ounstep from the family name Ovenstede – later Ownstead recorded in the year 1332. According to the Family Search website one of the earliest Unstead / Unsted surname's is that of John Unsted christened in Eastbourne on 12th April 1594. English records link the surname to several counties that include Essex, Kent, London, Surrey, Sussex & South Yorkshire. Unstead's are listed in several states of America including Arizona, Florida, Maryland and North Carolina, Pennsylvania, & Virginia. Other parts of the world populated with Unstead's include Australia & New Zealand. My own interest in the name started with my maternal grandmother who was Maria Frances Unstead born in London in March 1883 & who died aged 91 in 1974.