About the research

Following Phil’s untimely death in October 2008, several members of the Guild of One-Name Studies expressed concern that Phil’s web site might be lost. After discussion between interested members, and with the full support of Phil’s widow Jo Dance, a web site called surnamestudies.org.uk was set up by Guild member Mike Spathaky in 2009 to ensure that Phil’s work was preserved.

Mike noted that no website stays the same forever and was sure Phil would have agreed that his site had reached a stage when a restructuring and redesign was desirable. In 2019, we once again restructured and Phil’s work now forms a major section, Modern British Surnames, of the Guild’s one-name.org website. All of Phil’s content is included, closely following the structure implemented by Mike Spathaky in 2009. Phil’s content will be displayed in blue type. More recent content (not by Philip Dance) will be in grey type.

Please use the navigation menu on the left to explore the Modern British Surnames section. On mobile phones, the navigation for the Modern British Surnames section is below the page.