About the work

A closer look.

Tell me one word, one name, or one place, and I find where it actually came from. You get a short written history: the oldest record I can reach, the first place it was written down, the root underneath, and how it travelled into now. That means real etymology and word origins; the meaning and first record of a first name or a surname (last name, family name), your family name meaning; and the real place history behind a place name, a street, or a town. Every claim is checked at the source (etymology dictionaries, place and parish records, first citations) and you get the source list, so you can follow any line yourself. If the trail runs out, I say where, rather than filling the gap with a guess. A lot of name histories online are invented. I have one rule: nothing goes in that I could not verify myself. Before you pay, send me the word, name, or place, and I tell you honestly whether there is a real history to find. If there is not, you are not charged.