Читать книгу Collins Tracing Your Scottish Family History - Ryan Tubridy, Anthony Adolph - Страница 23

When you encounter an ancestral surname, look it up in a reliable surname dictionary. Though far from perfect, the best starting-point is G.F. Black’s The Surnames of Scotland, Their Origin, Meaning, and History (New York Public Library, 1946). Some areas have specialist dictionaries, such as G. Lamb’s Orkney Surnames (Paul Harris Publishing, 1978).

It makes no sense trying to research a family line without seeing if the surname identifies a likely place or origin. You may never be able to trace back all the generations to that place, but at least you will know where the line is likely to have come from. Kinloch or Kinnock, for example, comes from Co. Fife, so a family of that name living in Inverness is likely to have migrated from the south, and any in Glasgow are likely to have moved from the east. Black is good at identifying surnames that can have more than one origin, thus helping you not to make unfounded assumptions.