Author Description

"The overall aim of this book... is to impress on those historians and genealogists who wish to make use of surnames, that there are many aspects of their evolution and development which we still do not fully understand. It will be argued that each surname is unique and that real meaning emerges only when we look much more closely into the circumstances surrounding each origin. The impact of social and linguistic factors on surnames as they developed, will be investigated in detail through individual name studies, using some sources... which are not the first choice of most genealogists."--Page 11