Where Does Your Name Come From?

The impressionist painter Claud Monet was born in Paris, France.The fact that Monet was born in Paris isn't that surprising. A map showing the distribution of people in France with the surname 'Monet' reveals that Paris has the second highest number of Monets of all French departments. The Nord has the most. 

If you are French, or have a French surname, you can explore the distribution of your family name using the Geneamap interactive map. Enter your name into Geneamap and it will show you a heat-map visualizing the distribution of your surname across France. The Geneamap may be of particular use to anyone who is interested in researching their family tree, as it can help to reveal in which area of France a surname may have originally emanated from.

If you want to research the geographical distribution of surnames in other countries then you can use:

• named - the spatial distribution of UK surnames
• Italian Last Names Map
• Heatmap of Italian Surnames
• Geo Genealogy Map of Irish Surnames
• The German Surname Map
  

You can also explore the global distribution of your family name using Forebears. You can use Forebears to undertake a global search for your surname. If you enter a surname into Forebears it will tell you the meaning of your name and show you a map of the global distribution of your name. Beneath this generated map you can view a list showing the number of incidences of your surname recorded in each country around the world.