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We all have fascinating family histories – and surnames are a great place to start finding out more about our genealogy. Step into the surprising world of last names with this definitive quiz that will get you thinking about your own past …
There are around 45,000 different surnames in the UK, but what is the most common origin?
Place names, such as Leicester or Lancashire
Occupations, such as Smith or Tanner
Nicknames, such as Short or Goodfellow
Relationship names, such as Jackson (son of Jack)
In Iceland, a girl called Blær faced a protracted battle to use her own name because …
It was considered a masculine name
The pronunciation couldn’t be agreed
It was recognised as a surname, not a first name
There’s no letter 'b' in the Icelandic alphabet
If you’re applying to change your name in the UK, which of the following is commonly allowed?
A hashtag or exclamation point
Names more than 150 characters long
Names consisting of a single character
Royal titles such as Prince
Which of the following names comes from the Sanskrit for 'lion'?
Kaur
Chander
Kapoor
Singh
What is the study of names and their origins called?
Matronymics
Pneumonics
Onomastics
Patronymics
One for the dog lovers: which of the following Irish names reportedly means 'lover of hounds'?
Byrne
O’Sullivan
Murphy
O’Connor
What’s the main difference between 'von' and 'van'?
They’re associated with different languages
One means 'from' and one means 'the'
You can’t hitch a ride in a von
There’s no difference – it’s just personal preference
When did the surname 'Farah' first appear in UK census records?
1500
1881
1992
2001
What is the significance of the 'e' on the end of 'Clarke'?
An 'e' means your ancestors were of a higher rank than the Clarks
It means you should pronounce it 'clarkee'
It means you should pronounce it 'clerkeh'
Not much – but you will probably spend a lot of your time saying: 'with an e'
7 and above.
Well done!
4 and above.
Good effort
0 and above.
Nice try!
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