Surname History  

Forebears

forebears.io
Explore 31 million surname origins, meanings, distribution maps and demographics at Forebears, the largest database of last names.

Guild of One-Name Studies

one-name.org
The Guild is a charitable organisation dedicated to promoting the public understanding of one-name (surname) studies and the preservation and accessibility of the resultant information. Take advantage of the free search available on the Guild's home page to see if the surnames you are searching are part of someone's one-name study.

SurnameDB

UK surnamedb.com
The Internet Surname Database. A database of nearly 50,000 surname meanings, containing information on the last name origins and the surnames earliest recordings.

The origin of surnames in Great Britain
The development of second names in England increased following the the Norman Conquest in 1066. Unlike today, they described the person: where they lived, their profession, their inter-family relationships, physical appearance or character. Over time they became hereditary surnames. Their adoption was more common amongst the higher social classes; 
the lower classes taking longer. By 1450 most of the country went by first and last names.   
More than half of all English surnames are locative, meaning they are derived from places and place names.

In Scotland second names were in use before the 10th century, referring to a clan, parent or grandparent (the oft used Mac meaning 'son of').

In Wales, until the 16th century, patronymic descriptions (indicating familial relationships) were norm.