A new website will help you to work out the current distribution of people in the USA, Australia and most of Western Europe who share a particular surname. Located at www.mapyourname.com, the site is the product of a collaboration between King's College London and Experian.
Despite it's slick presentation, I was stunned to type my name Paton in and to have the following message appear - "The name PATON is associated with people who originate from England". The problem is that when you view the actual map of Europe, it clearly contradicts this by showing that a vast majority of those with the name are in Scotland, and by a serious long shot, with the highest concentrations found in Dundee and Ayrshire. The distribution maps are entirely accurate, I am sure, but you might want to take such sweeping statements about the surnames' origins with a pinch of salt! Otherwise a very simple to use research tool.
Chris
www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk
Scotland's Greatest Story
Professional family history research & genealogical problem solving
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