Hey all,
Does anyone know any great websites that can offer at least some insight to surnames and their origins. I usually hit dead end at these horrible sites that offer to send you family crests and printed mugs...
I'm probably asking about something that exists in the perfect world, but as a South African -really trying to dig up my family tree with all the surnames and find their origin is quite frustrating.
Though with some bravery in the coming Months I will make a dreaded trip to the archives to help myself, but there has to be something online that can at least help somewhat.
Anyone know?
My go-to source for names online is Behind the Name.
They also have a website for first names.
Not sure if they quite cover the genealogical information you're looking for, but hopefully it's a bit helpful!
The practices of academic and family history are usually fairly divergent. Some of the users here might have some ideas for you, but you also might want to check out /r/genealogy, which seems to have a pretty active community.
I've occasionally done family history-style research on individual artists, and essentially all of that work was in archives. In the US, at least, archivists at local universities and historical societies tend to be very experienced in helping with genealogical research, so they really are your best bet. I don't know about the research resources in South Africa, though.
Good luck!