this is pretty nifty

[wendyzski]

Find the worldwide distribution of your surname.

Apparently Zdrodowski is most common in the part of Poland nearest to Russia.

Comments

[justphoenix.livejournal.com]

I did my (Polish) maiden name and was surprised to find the largest concentrations were in the US and France.

[ashtalet.livejournal.com]

That's nifty - it actually found ME! The top five cities for my last name are Milwaukee (where I have at least 4 relatives with that name), Paris France (???), Reynoldsburg OH (as many as 5 relatives at one time or another), Pittsburgh (my parents and brother), and Evanston (me). Also it thinks my name is French (and not anglicized Ukrainian/Polish/Russian), but that's a separate topic.

[wendyzski.livejournal.com]

See - I SAID it was nifty!

It found me in Chicago, my brother in CA, my mom in Fl and the old clot of vague relatives in South River NJ.

It doesn't "think" it's anything in particular - it just goes by spellings. So if there is a french name that is spelled the same, it counts them together. Not an issue I have, of course....

[ashtalet.livejournal.com]

Yes, but your name is just a tad more common. It's literally the case that with one person with my last name in Evanston, current statistics put it tied for fourth worldwide.

Also, wherever the data comes from, it's a bit out of date. The group in Ohio has split up as of a couple years ago, and has its highest concentration in Madison which isn't showing on the chart at all. I will acknowledge that it's pretty cool to have a tool that's sufficiently detailed that I can notice things like that, though.

[eacole72.livejournal.com]

The most common place for my maiden name, Schwindt, is Argentina.

[lisagems.livejournal.com]

I expected the density in US, Canada and UK, but there arealmost as many Hunters in Australia than the other three combined. 'spose I shouldn't be surprised given where most of the early immigrants to Oz were from. Same as US and Canada.

I have *such* a common name.

[forfaxia.livejournal.com]

Wow.... Norway has a pretty high Hellum density.

[jrittenhouse.livejournal.com]

Not surprisingly, the concentration is in the US, Canada and Germany. In Germany, it's the Rhineland, which surprised me - Wesphalia, I would have expected.

The US: Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. Since we originally came to America in 1688 to what's now Philly, and spread out from there but mostly due west into Ohio and then other parts of the Midwest, the map (especially in Ohio, concentrating in the central and southern / southwestern parts of the state) makes total sense.

Interesting that "Jim" is the 10th most common Rittenhouse surname!

[post-toastie.livejournal.com]

This works if your surname hasn't gone through a number of changes as your ancestors moved from one place to another. If I use what I think is the correct spelling, I end up with countries that don't match up with what I know about where my family comes from.

[countessof-roth.livejournal.com]

Maiden or Married, its all Germany for me

:D

[ladyariyana.livejournal.com]

I find it highly interesting that what would have been my last name had I not been invited, seems to be only found in the area where my dad and family live and in georgia. No where else in the world apparently. wow that family is unique lol