• Home
    • About the Guild
    • About one-name studies
    • Starting your ONS
    • Conducting ONS (videos)
    • Join Us
    • Guild Shop
  • Studies
    • Surnames A-Z
    • Recent registrations
    • Study websites
    • Registered Societies
  • News
    • General News
    • Guild Public Newsletters
  • Forums
    • Guild Facebook page
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • Conference & AGM
    • Seminar events
    • Guild Webinars
  • Resources
    • Guild Journal
    • Members’ Websites Project
    • Guild Blog Program
    • DNA
    • Modern Surnames
    • Those Who Served
    • Guild Indexes
    • Pharos ONS Courses
    • Speakers
    • New Knowledge Zone
    • Fun Zone
    • Knowledge Zone – Seminars & Conference
  • Help
    • Reset your password
  • Log In
  • Contact Us

Guild of One-Name Studies

One-name studies, Genealogy

Is your surname here?

    • 2,431 members
    • 2,267 studies
    • 8,095 surnames

Study principles

The formal obligation agreed by members when registering a one-name study with the Guild is simple – it is to respond to email and postal reply-paid queries relating to the study in a timely fashion.

Outside this formal requirement, members who register a one-name study with the Guild accept the following broad principles in relation to it:

  • that the study will be global in scope
  • that it will include research within countries where the name is relatively significant and where sources of genealogical data are readily available
  • that it will research and store data available in core genealogical datasets and transcriptions
  • that it stores and may research other data where the surname is mentioned
  • that the member will maintain an accurate description of the scope and progress of the study using the study codes shown on the member’s self-service registration page on the Guild website.

A one-name study is generally built around the large-scale sets of key genealogical data referred to as “core genealogical datasets” in the study principles associated with a one-name study. Typically these core datasets will vary for each of the key countries being researched according to the availability of genealogical records. In some countries these sets of data are organised and published on a national level; in most on a regional or local level; and in some hardly at all.

The most important records fall within the following categories:

  • births, marriages and deaths
  • census records
  • wills

The majority of researchers find that they start their research by using free and subscription-based genealogical data services on the web that aggregate these kinds of datasets. At some point, as a study develops, it is natural that it will start to focus on a wider range of record types and on original records specific to individual locations.

It should be noted that the Guild places no obligation on those registering a study to follow any specific regime of research, nor to concentrate on any specific aspect of their study. In particular, there are no time constraints or deadlines on members, who are free to conduct their one-name projects as they see best.

THIS IS A DEFAULT WIDGET WHICH SHOULD NOT DISPLAY. DO NOT DELETE THIS.

One-Name Studies

  • One-Name Studies
    • Surnames
      • Variants and deviants
    • Registering a one-name study
      • Study principles
  • Publication of results
  • Preserving your study
  • Data collection
  • Analysis
  • Synthesis
  • Publicising your study
  • Responding to enquiries
  • Data sources
  • Recording data
  • Storing data

The Guild Vision

The Guild will strengthen its position as the centre of excellence for surname studies by educating the worldwide genealogical community in one-name studies and empowering members to share their knowledge and expertise.

Other Guild Websites

You may find our other Guild websites of interest:

  • Members’ Websites Program
  • Surname Cloud
  • Guild Blog Program
  • Guild Members’ records on FamilySearch
  • Guild Marriage Locator

Contact Us

Email: Guild General Contact
Postal address:
c/o Secretary
Edendale, 113 Stomp Road
Burnham, Berkshire, SL1 7NN, U.K
Call us free on:
UK: 0800 011 2182
US & Canada: 1-800-647-4100
Australia: 1800 305 184

Follow Us


  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • YouTube

Guild of One-Name Studies Policies:    Privacy   CIO Membership and Registration Conditions   Sales   COVID-19 Impact

© 2013–2023 Guild of One-Name Studies CIO. Registered Charity in England and Wales, No. 1197944.