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Guild of One-Name Studies

One-name studies, Genealogy

Is your surname here?

    • 2,435 members
    • 2,268 studies
    • 8,099 surnames

Study principles

The formal obligation agreed by members when registering a one-name study with the Guild is simple – it is to respond to email and postal reply-paid queries relating to the study in a timely fashion.

Outside this formal requirement, members who register a one-name study with the Guild accept the following broad principles in relation to it:

  • that the study will be global in scope
  • that it will include research within countries where the name is relatively significant and where sources of genealogical data are readily available
  • that it will research and record data available in core genealogical datasets and transcriptions
  • that it stores and may research other data where the surname is mentioned
  • that the member will maintain an accurate description of the scope and progress of the study using the study codes shown on the member’s self-service registration page on the Guild website.

A one-name study is generally built around the large-scale sets of key genealogical data referred to as “core genealogical datasets” in the study principles associated with a one-name study. Typically these core datasets will vary for each of the key countries being researched according to the availability of genealogical records. In some countries these sets of data are organised and published on a national level; in most on a regional or local level; and in some hardly at all.

The most important records fall within the following categories:

  • births, marriages and deaths
  • census records
  • wills

The majority of researchers find that they start their research by using free and subscription-based genealogical data services on the web that aggregate these kinds of datasets. At some point, as a study develops, it is natural that it will start to focus on a wider range of record types and on original records specific to individual locations.

It should be noted that the Guild places no obligation on those registering a study to follow any specific regime of research, nor to concentrate on any specific aspect of their study. In particular, there are no time constraints or deadlines on members, who are free to conduct their one-name projects as they see best.

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One-Name Studies

  • One-Name Studies
    • Surnames and variants
    • Registering a one-name study
    • Data collection
    • Analysis
    • Synthesis
    • Publicising your study
    • Responding to enquiries
    • Publication of results
    • Preserving your study
    • Data sources
    • Recording data
    • Storing data
    • Roles for One-Name Studies

The Guild Vision

The Guild will strengthen its position as the centre of excellence for surname studies by educating the public and worldwide genealogical community in one-name studies and empowering members to preserve their knowledge and share their expertise.

Other Guild Websites

You may find our other Guild websites of interest:

  • Members’ Websites Program
  • Surname Cloud
  • Guild Members’ records on FamilySearch
  • Guild Marriage Locator

Contact Us

Email: Guild General Contact
Postal address:
c/o Treasurer,
3 Windsor Gardens,
Herne Bay,
Kent, CT6 8FE. UK.
Call us free on:
UK: 0800 011 2182
US & Canada: 1-800-647-4100
Australia: 1800 305 184

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© 2013–2023 Guild of One-Name Studies CIO. Registered Charity in England and Wales, No. 1197944.