How do I register a surname?

Subject to Registration requirements and certain constraints, after joining, you may register initially one surname and up to five variants. Subsequently you may then register one or two more surnames, bringing the number registered to you up to the maximum of three names. For each surname you register, you pay a once-only Registration Fee of £12.00.

The Guild does not recommend that new members register a surname and start a study unless they are already experienced in the principles of general family history research, and have already collected a reasonable body of data on the surname. Our recommendation for applicants wishing to register a surname is to have made a significant start by having already collected data relating to the name as shown in our registration recommendations.

Before registering a surname as a One-Name Study with the Guild, you should be familiar with the section of this website dealing with One-Name Studies. You should also understand the two essential commitments you are taking on with respect to that surname.

Make sure that any variants you wish to include are true variants and not just transient clerical alternative spellings (what some call "deviants"). (See the page on "Variants and Deviants" which gives the Guild's position on these terms.) True variants should have been derived from the original source and then continued as inherited surnames to the present day. If there are more than five variants, choose the commonest five in current usage.

All surname registration requests are carefully scrutinised by the Registrar, who will apply certain criteria in deciding whether to accept the registration of the proposed study surname and variants; he may ask the member to consider altering the request in some way, or - rarely - he may refuse to accept the application for some stated reason. In these matters the Registrar's decision is final. If a surname registration were to be declined, the fee would be returned.

A Registration Application Form is available in the Members Room, or you can request one to be posted to you by the Registrar. Write via Box G, 14 Charterhouse Buildings, Goswell Road, London EC1M 7BA, England, or email to .

Your study name and variants registered with the Guild will then appear, with your contact details (postal address and email/web addresses if you have them) in the Register of One-Name Studies. This circulates widely in its paper and online versions, amongst genealogists of all kinds, not just one-namers. This enables those with an interest in your registered surname to contact you. It is also an excellent resource for you to find people who are interested in the other surnames that occur in your study.