Oxford dictionary of family names in Britain and Ireland

[Starryfish]

I've never had a name that people could spell. I was born an O'Riley , GreatGreat GF changed the spelling when the family converted to CofE after the local priest refused to come out to baptise a prem baby who then died and couldn't be buried in consecrated ground. I don't know why he didn't drop the O' as then people would be able spell it.
My first husband's parents were Polish who settled in the UK after WWII, so of course no one can spell or pronounce that. My children have had times when second wave Poles have spoken to them in Polish which they can't speak ( neither can ex H).
The present Mr S has a surname which people can't spell either. My son married a Smith and we were all amazed.

I did some ancestry searching and my paternal GF comes from @BrendaP's part of the world. The rest all come from Kent and Sussex. Agricultural Labourers feature on the census as well as servant.

[Greybird]

I remember some years ago showing Mum her family tree and she was remarking on all the different surnames. Then she spotted the Whapshotts. "Oh my G**" she said "thank goodness that's not my name now - can you imagine being called Connie Whapshott!".

[UttaRetch]

There are currently 53,166 people in Great Britain with my commonplace family name and in 1881, there were 37,127.  Ireland currently has only 1,120.

[Pearl]

Is that all, @UttaRetch ?  There are 215074 with my surname (also of Welsh origin), including @Flobear , I believe.

[UttaRetch]

@Pearl: I'm surprised there are so few.  I thought they would be millions.

[Efemera]

Only 239 with my maiden name. None at all with my fathers name. I’ve had that many names...5 surnames in all!

[UttaRetch]

@Efemera: is the paternal line extinct or did the family adopt another name?

[Acorn]

310 in Britain with my surname, none in Ireland.  67 in England and 22 in Ireland with my maiden name, and my Mum's maiden name doesn't even have a listing.   

[Flobear]

Is that all, @UttaRetch ?  There are 215074 with my surname (also of Welsh origin), including @Flobear , I believe.

It's my ex-husband's surname and extremely common in Wales - with a spelling and sometimes a pronunciation difference for England.

My maiden name was common in Lancashire in 1881. Mr Bear's mother's maiden name is so uncommon that it's not listed though I have seen it on another site.

[wrenkins]

How funny. Him indoors is a blow in from Surrey and guess how many in Ireland have his name?!?!?! ONE! 
What about his two boys. When do they count I wonder?

[Efemera]

@Efemera: is the paternal line extinct or did the family adopt another name?

My biological father was Polish... demobbed here after the war.

[Tamnymore]

My original name is one of the most common Scottish surnames. DH's is much less common but still distinctly Scottish. However, it is one of those names which people often tack an S onto even though it has no S at the end. When I give my surname I often have to say: 'NAME no S'. I was once asked 'Is that singular or plural?' To which I replied 'Even if it had the S on the end I'd still only be singular.' 

[BrendaP]

My rarest family name is Cuphis which is extinct now - it's not mentioned in the Oxford list and to the best of my knowledge disappeared when John Cuphis died in 1852 and his wife died in 1860.  If anyone knows which spaceship brought John's father John to this world in the mid 1700s I'd love to know.

[WendyW]

It is nice to have a name that you don't have to keep spelling every time. My first married name was Hayward which people variously spelled Heyward, Haywood, Harwood and Heywood. If you also live in a place that needs spelling it can be very tedious!

My sister's married name is Kaufmann, which apparently can be spelled with any combination of single or double "f" and/or "n". While she's never complained about it, I'm sure it's just as tedious as yours.

My maiden name is very unique. It's Finnish, and even in a state full of Scandinavians if you share that last name, you ARE related to me.

[BriarRose]

My husband's family name has 265 bearers in GB and about that many in the USA. Growing up, my daughter was the only person with her first and last names that we could find (as am I). Then she married a man named Rodriguez and went from a unique name to one so common that she hasn't been able to find a good variation for an email address. Ah, the things we do for love. 

My family name, on the other hand, is borne by 22,777 folks in GB and 692 in Ireland. I don't think anyone ever asked, "Now, how do you spell that?" 

Thanks for sharing this site. Tons of fun.