Rankings, Meanings, and Locations
Although individualized census information is not released to the general public until at least 72 years after a census is taken, the U.S. Census Bureau does provide information about the frequency of over 88,000 surnames found during the 1990 census. If you search their database for a surname of interest, you are given the frequency and ranking of that surname. A separate file of Spanish surnames are also available.

The origins of some surnames may seem obvious, but those of others are quite mysterious. “Surnames: What's in a Name?” can put it all together for you. This site provides the origins of thousands of different names, telling you the language of origin and what the name meant in that language.

While knowing the 1990 frequency of a surname within the United States is fun, and knowing the origin is interesting (and may even provide a clue), knowing where to look for a surname is far more useful. Hamrick Software’s Web site provides “U.S. Surname Distribution,” a page that allows you to create a United States map based on the 1850 census, the 1880 census, the 1920 census, or 1990 phone books. (The Hamrick site points out that the maps based on census data are less accurate because they are based on a 1-in-100 sample.) You choose a surname and a time period, and the site then draws you a map of the United States showing each state in a different color; the color corresponds to the frequency of the surname in that state.

Who’s Doing What?
Even before there were computers, genealogists wanted to know who was researching which surnames. Back then, genealogists usually had to depend on card files at the local library or, later, annual printed directories. But once the Internet came into existence, a new resource eventually became available: the Roots Surname List (RSL). The RSL should not be confused with ROOTS-L (a popular electronic discussion list); instead, the RSL is a database of surnames listed with the names of the genealogists who are researching them. Originally, the RSL was a set of alphabetic files which had to be downloaded before they could be searched. Now, with the World Wide Web, the RSL can be searched via an interactive form.

The RSL now consists of approximately 250,000 surnames submitted by over 30,000 different genealogists. Its current home is the RootsWeb Genealogical Data Cooperative. When you reach the RSL’s Interactive Search page, you must enter at least the first two letters of your surname of interest. Alternatively, you can search the RSL by Soundex code, and by search by location. To narrow the search by surname, you can optionally enter a location, such as a province, state, or country abbreviation. The RSL uses a set of standard abbreviations for all locations.

Once you have entered the surname and instructed the form to execute the search, you will be presented with a list of surnames that match your request. Entries that are new or have been changed since the previous month are marked in a special way, as are entries submitted by individuals who have not contacted the RSL in some time. If a submitter does not keep in regular touch with the maintainers of the RSL, his or her entries are “expired” and eventually removed from the main database.

For each surname displayed, a range of years and locations is also displayed, as is an identifying code word for the submitter. The code word can then be selected in order to display the full name, e-mail address, and postal address of the submitter. At this point you can choose to see the entire list of surnames submitted by the same submitter, which can be helpful in linking together multiple surnames.

The RSL-Interactive Search page provides information about the RSL, as well as instructions on how to submit your own surnames to the database.

Is Anyone Out There?
If you don’t find your surnames in the RSL (and even if you do), the next logical step is to see whether there’s an electronic mailing list dedicated to your surnames. Over 1,000 different surname-oriented mailing lists exist, with new ones being created every day. There are even lists of lists, like at RootsWeb.com, that can help you find one that matches your research strains.

Once you have subscribed to a typical surname mailing list, you’ll likely receive a welcome message generated by the mailing list software. It is critical that this message be printed or otherwise saved, as it usually contains such vital information as the name and e-mail address of the person who maintains the mailing list, the scope of the list, any procedural or etiquette rules that should be followed by the list contributors, and any special formatting instructions for submitting surname queries to the list. (For instance, how helpful can it possibly be to submit a query to the Smith mailing list with a subject line consisting only of “Smith”?) The welcome message also contains the most vital information of all: how to unsubscribe from the mailing list if you later decide that it’s not for you.

Many surname lists provide a “digest” option, meaning that you can obtain all of a day’s individual messages in one large daily message. If the digest option is available, it will usually be described in the welcome message.

Other genealogical mailing lists may be appropriate for your surname queries besides those dedicated to specific surnames. For instance, a number of mailing lists are dedicated to discussing genealogical research in specific geographic areas. If your surname research can be localized to one of those areas, you may want to post your queries there.

The “granddaddy” of all genealogical mailing lists, ROOTS-L, has been accumulating messages since 1987. Nearly 200,000 messages are archived at the RootsWeb site, and can be searched.

I Read the News Today
If your surname doesn’t yet have its own mailing list, or if it does but are afraid that you are not connecting with the right researchers, you might choose to post your surname queries to soc.genealogy.surnames, a Usenet news group designed for that purpose. Usenet is an international message board covering thousands of different topics. The individual messages (called “postings” or “articles” or, collectively, “news”) are grouped into message areas called “news groups.” Unlike the surname mailing lists, which can overwhelm your electronic mailbox if they are particularly busy, Usenet messages are kept in a separate area that you visit whenever you wish. However, because your local Internet provider may choose to delete old Usenet messages on a regular basis, it’s advisable to check for new messages often (at least weekly).

A definite advantage of soc.genealogy.surnames over the surname mailing lists is that its messages are “moderated,” meaning that each one is checked by a human moderator before being released to the public. This prevents messages from having useless subject lines, since the moderators have agreed on a common standard that supplies good information. As a result, you can usually determine by the subject line whether you need to read the message.

What if your local Internet Service Provider doesn’t provide access to Usenet? Not to worry: the same messages which appear in soc.genealogy.surnames are “gatewayed” to a mailing list. In other words, you can subscribe to the GENNAM-L mailing list and you’ll get the same messages that others are seeing on soc.genealogy.surnames.

In addition to soc.genealogy.surnames, there are about a dozen Usenet news groups that pertain to specific ethnic groups. If your surname fits into one of these, you may find it useful to post your queries there as well.

Newsletters Galore
Those of us who use the Internet every day may occasionally forget that not every genealogist is online. Many of these genealogists subscribe to family association newsletters, delivered by postal mail the “old-fashioned” way. But someone associated with the newsletter may have an e-mail address that you can write to for information.

Just One Name, That’s All It Took
Some genealogical researchers dedicate their time to locating all references to a single surname. The Association of One-Name Studies maintains an electronic directory of these researchers, listed alphabetically by surname. For each surname, you’ll find the name of the researcher, his or her mailing address, and phone number. If the researcher maintains a Web site, the directory provides a link, and if the researcher has an e-mail address, the directory identifies that as well.

GenTree and Other Sites
The GenTree site provides access to the “Online Genealogical Database Index.” This site lists over 1,000 different databases that can be searched. Users should be forewarned that the databases are listed alphabetically by a name usually derived from that of the database owner, and as a result it can be difficult to determine exactly which database contains the data you need. The databases vary widely in size, from those containing fewer than 100 individuals to those with more than 50,000.

Eastern Digital Resources maintains the “Genealogist’s Index to the World Wide Web.” This site provides access to a surname search, with options for a Soundex search and one by state and county. Instructions are provided on how to perform these optional searches. If you don’t know the Soundex code for your surname, don’t despair, since using a standard surname search will also display the appropriate Soundex code.

Specialized Surname Resources
If your ancestor fits into a particular category, there may be a database that suits your needs. For instance, if your ancestor may have fought in the Revolutionary War, you will want to visit home of “American Revolutionary War Soldiers and Their Descendants.” The soldiers are listed alphabetically, with the name and e-mail address of the descendant.

Another such database is “Indian Captives of Early American Pioneers.” This provides an alphabetical listing by surname, with links to pages that discuss the pioneers and their captives.

Dorothy might like the home of the “Kansas Family History: Surname List.” Then again, GALE isn’t on the list, but many others are!

Scarlett O’Hara, meanwhile, would probably prefer, the “Traveller Southern Families” site, where you can search a database of over 300,000 individuals. This database consists of GEDCOM-format files that have been converted to HTML documents and indexed by the submitters.

And Eliza Doolittle would no doubt enjoy “Surname Lists” for the various counties of the United Kingdom and Ireland.

One-stop Shopping
Looking for a place on the Web that seems to bring all of the surname-related resources together in one spot? Such a compendium is available at Cyndi’s List, which provides both general surname resources and specific surname pages, listed alphabetically.

Search Engines to the Rescue
What if you have exhausted the genealogical surname resources and haven’t found what you are looking for? What if one of the compilers mentioned earlier has not yet indexed the Web pages that contain the surname information you need?

Fortunately, the World Wide Web is at no loss for search tools which index millions of Web pages. These search tools may be especially helpful if your surnames are relatively unusual.

Among the most popular search engines are AltaVista, Hotbot, and Lycos. Hotbot has the added useful feature of allowing you to search for a full name, whether it appears in the document as “First Last” or as “Last, First,” even with a middle initial. Because you can use Boolean operators such as “AND” and “OR,” search engines give you the opportunity to combine surnames with geographic locations in order to limit your search, or to list several alternate spellings of a surname in order to broaden it.

If you’re willing to give up some of the specialized features of the individual search engines in order to take advantage of a “brute force” method, you may want to try out a metasearch engine such as Dogpile. Dogpile contacts over a dozen different search engines, passing along the same query to each. If this method can’t find your surname, maybe it isn’t found anywhere on the Web!

Newshounds
Several search engines have the ability not only to search Web pages but also to search Usenet postings. AltaVista, Hotbot, and Infoseek all provide the option of searching Usenet rather than the Web for a word or name. Two other search facilities, Reference.com and Deja News specialize in searching the contents of Usenet postings. Deja News has a particularly large archive of older postings. This means you can locate postings which may have appeared in the genealogical news groups (such as soc.genealogy.surnames) that you may have missed.

Because different search engines may index different news groups, you may want to consider using Dogpile’s ability to search all of the Usenet tools mentioned above. One thing to keep in mind when searching Usenet postings is that you’ll not only be able to search the content of the messages but also the names of those who have contributed them. Perhaps a distant cousin is a frequent Usenet user!

Additional Online Resources
Once you have exhausted Web pages, Usenet messages, mailing lists and their archives, and online genealogical databases, you may think that the Internet has given you all references to the surnames you’re seeking. Think again.

Yahoo! People Search will locate living individuals, their mailing addresses, and phone numbers. This facility also permits you to locate e-mail addresses. If that doesn’t give you what you need, also check out Yahoo!’s White Pages category for a list of other searchable phone books and online directories.

Has an ancestor or other relative written any books or magazine articles? Or perhaps someone else has written about them, and included their surname in the title? If so, visit one of the many online library catalogs (especially the Library of Congress). Stop by Yahoo!’s Library category for a lengthy list of libraries accessible online.

Conclusion
Just as the people bearing our surnames may be scattered hither and yon over the face of the earth, the resources that assist in surname research are found in many different places on the Internet. The information provided above is intended to help you organize your online search into a thorough process, leaving few, if any, stones unturned. From World Wide Web home pages to electronic mailing lists, from Usenet news group messages to searchable online databases, the Internet is a treasure trove of surname information, just waiting for you to dig in and explore.

Drew Smith is technology administrator for the AOL Genealogy Forum. He can be reached at drewsmith@aol.com.