Most Surnames come from Somewhere – Recording Posted 26 September 2024 by Julie GoucherDistribution of the Butcher surname, from Surname Atlas. Yesterday we were treated to a great webinar from Howard Benbrook who gave a knowledgeable and engaging presentation called Most Surnames come from Somewhere. The webinar took a different structure to usual. Howard talked about surnames in our usual webinar format, before providing a synopsis of the software, Surname Atlas. Howard then subsequently undertook a live demo using a variety of surnames that he had already selected, before following up with surnames from some of those who attended the live session. Those who attended live and submitted a surname request hopefully found this helpful. There were a number of attendees that we did not have time to provide a map for, and we have a list of the attendees and the associated surname maps requested, we will get them sent out over the course of the next month via email as PDF documents. Surname Atlas was created by Steve Archer whose website can be found HERE. You can purchase Surname Atlas from the Guild on the sales page HERE, Guild members are able to benefit from a small discount. Sadly the software is only available on CD, and is not available as a digital download, or on a USB. There is no iOS version, but the CD version will work using an emulator. About the speaker: Photograph courtesy of Stephen Daglish, 2022 Howard served as the bookstall manager for many years, and was a familiar face at many genealogical events where he represented the Guild. Howard had previously served as Guild Chairman, before becoming a Vice President in 2011, a position he held until July 2022 when he was appointed by the Trustees as President of the Guild of One-Name Studies. Howard family was resident in the East End of London, where they’d been living since approximately 1750. In order to tackle a Benbrook brick wall, the Benbrook One-Name Study was born and you can read about it HERE. The recording of the webinar is available to all and can be seen below. If there are any questions, please do not hesitate to send them to the webinar team.