doi 10.4436/JASS.92004 JASs Invited Reviews Journal of Anthropological Sciences Vol. 92 (2014), pp. 99-117 Analysing surnames as geographic data James Cheshire UCL Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, UCL, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, U.K. e-mail: [email protected] Summary - With most surname research undertaken within the fields of anthropology and population genetics, geographers have overlooked surnames as a credible data source. In addition to providing a review of recent developments in surname analysis, this paper highlights areas where geographers can make important contributions to advancing surname research, both in terms of its quality and also its applications. The review discusses the emerging applications for surname research, not least in the mining of online data, and ends by suggesting three future research themes to ensure the building momentum of surname research continues to grow across disciplines. Keywords – Surnames, Geography, Regions, Geneology. Introduction This review will highlight areas where geog- raphers have much to contribute to surname Family names, or surnames, provide almost research, in addition to indicating a broadening every culture with a ubiquitous method for dis- range of applications that may help to increase tinguishing between familial groups. Yet the rou- awareness of the value of surname data. It will tine use of surnames has meant that their cultural demonstrate the growing importance of surnames and geographical significance is often taken for as a source of spatial data and argue for their granted. We frequently make judgments - either increased utilisation both within and beyond consciously or subconsciously - about a person’s geography. This review therefore differs from ancestry or origin based on their surname. It is previous literature [see Colantonio et al. (2003) obvious to those in the UK, for example, that sur- and Darlu et al. (2012)] that has traditionally names such as “Smit h”, “Jones” and “Macleod” focused on the use of surnames in population are English, Welsh and Scottish in origin, respec- genetics. It will begin by outlining the utility of tively. Placing surnames within a regional con- surnames as a source of geographic population text becomes somewhat more specialist yet many data before covering recent developments in their people would, for example, relate the surname analysis at both the individual and regional level. “Cheshire” to the county of the same name in The final sections of the review are concerned England. Even within cities surnames unique to with improving existing methodologies in the a particular ethnic or cultural group cluster in context of geography and also working towards particular areas, reflecting the underlying popula- a set of research themes to reflect the increasing tion distribution. From such anecdotes alone, it range of surname research applications. is clear that surnames can contain spatial infor- mation on a variety of scales – from city neigh- bourhoods through to continents - relating to the Surnames and population geography probable origins, and areas of residence, for many of their bearers. The purpose of this review is to Surnames and geography dynamically inter- go beyond such anecdotal conjecture to demon- sect through the potential of genealogical data to strate the ways in which researchers are able to enrich geographic research with regard to migra- generate insights into the geography of surnames. tion patterns, and through the construction the JASs is published by the Istituto Italiano di Antropologia www.isita-org.com 100 Surnames as geographic data of personal identity around ethnic origins or an individual) based on its surname composition, ancestral homes (Otterstrom & Bunker (2012). the inclusion of female surnames is less problem- Surname adoption did not occur simultaneously atic because they could either have adopted a sur- in all places, and surnaming conventions have name from a local male, or still hold a surname always been a product of both cultural (includ- inherited from their father. Such conclusions are ing linguistic) and legislative processes. Such also true at a European level, and certainly in rural processes are systematic but not geographically areas, with many matrimonial migrations being uniform, resulting in spatial structuring of sur- less than a few kilometres (Manni et al., 2008). name distributions that may subsequently be In some contexts, such as population genet- obscured by population movements. In Britain ics, it makes sense to exclude females from fine for example, surnames were developed as a means scale studies of particular surnames (see Bowden to distinguish individuals (particularly men) et al., 2007) but at the more aggregate scale from one another at a time when there were very their impact is less clear. Winney et al. (2011), few forenames. Such distinctions were essential for example, found only a minor effect after the for administrative purposes and surnames could exclusion of females from their sample design be passed from one generation to the next to suggesting that the phenomenon of women mar- ensure a record of lineage. This inheritability rying locally continues in many areas of the UK. is extremely important because it creates a self- More pragmatically, it is often challenging to sys- maintaining, enduring and culturally significant tematically remove females from large surname surname geography. Patterns of inheritance form databases without the gender of each bearer being the basis for genealogical research and enable the recorded. In several papers, such as Longley et al. creation of familial lineages that are often trace- (2011), it was considered best to treat surnames able to the point in time when the surname was with male and female bearers in the same way. first formalized. The extent to which surnames Aside from the uncertainty inherent in assigning offer an unbroken line to the geographic past will genders to individuals based on their forenames therefore correspond to the different time hori- (which are more likely to be available), a strength zons of surname adoption. of this is the use of the most complete population A further consideration in the use of sur- data available which could be compromised with names for population research is the fact that they poor gender-based sampling. In some coun- are largely transferred along male lines and passed tries, such as the Czech Republic (see Novotny to women after marriage. This point is especially & Cheshire, 2012), female derivations of a name relevant in the context of sociological studies are easily identified and can therefore be system- concerned with making broader generalisations atically removed if required. about population mobility. In many countries The following two sections will outline recent the majority of women change their surname developments in the geographic analysis of sur- when they marry, thus adopting the same cultural names. Developments discussed in the first seek marker as their partner (see Valetas, 2001). This to create a geographic classification of individual creates minor problems in the classification of surnames by identifying their point of origin areas (according to their surname compositions) or their areas of highest concentration; those in but more significant problems in the classifica- the second seek to identify regions with similar tion of individuals (according to their surname surname compositions. Almost all recent studies lineage). The surname may represent an entirely have benefited from the increasing availability of different culture to the one the woman was born comprehensive digital databases and the com- into, and of course, cannot be used to apply the putational power to process them: compare, for assumption that women who share the same sur- example, Otterstrom & Bunker’s (2012) access name are more likely to be related than those who to 800 million surnames with Lasker’s (1985) do not. When classifying a region (as opposed to access to a few thousand. J. Cheshire 101 The classification of individual a particular forename. This method is surpris- surnames ingly efficient because the heavily skewed nature of forename and surname distributions ensures Many early studies into the geography of relatively few names can cover a large proportion individual surnames were little more than visual of the population (Tucker, 2001). interpretations of point distributions (or counts) Expanding this principle, Mateos et al. of surname occurrences (see Guppy, 1890). In (2011) have constructed a large naming network the past few decades more sophisticated sta- based on surname and forename pairs. This tistical approaches have been applied to offer a approach reveals information about the names range of metrics such as a surname’s geographic because certain pairs appear more commonly concentration, its flows and probable area of within ethnic groups and therefore become clus- origin. All methods rely on the fact that sur- tered together in network space. These so-called names are not geographically random – the vast cultural-ethnic-linguistic (CEL) clusters can then majority exhibit some kind of spatial pattern- be assigned labels to tie them to a specific region ing. For example, surnames derived from place- or cultural group (Mateos et al., 2011). An exam- names within a 50km radius of Manchester and ple output from this is provided in Figure 1. This Birmingham in Great Britain occur at 145% work marks a shift away from name dictionaries