Surname Distribution Maps
United States 
Emigration and Immigration Surname Distribution Maps [[Image:
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Sometimes it is possible to guess where an immigrant originated through surname distribution maps. These maps graphically display locations where surnames occurred at different periods in time. This strategy provides genealogists with a research starting point in the birth country, when that information cannot be discovered in American sources. It works particularly well for less-common surnames and among families that have stayed in the same European locations for centuries.