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Search our Surnames A-Z
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We invite you to use our "FreeFind" search to locate an ancestor's name that may be listed in our surname lists. We chose to use FreeFind after evaluating numerous free search engines because of its ease of use, programming, and scheduled updates. We were unable to place only 1 search for the whole surname site; the size of our lists makes it necessary to use multiple searches, some for each surname letter. In searching, do not always restrict yourself ONLY to the letter group of the surname, as that surname may also show up in another surname letter as the name of a son, or spouse. Located on each search page is a link to Return to Surname Search for your ease in moving from searching one letter category to the next.
How to use FreeFind Search
First select the letter group that the surname you are searching for falls in. (For example, in searching for George Henry JONES, select and click on J.) This will take you to the "FreeFind Query Page for the I J K surname list." (Remember that this will not search for Jones that may be in listed in "B", you will need to search B separately.)
Now type in JONES and click on "Find". The results may show many pages for you to look through. You can click on each one in turn or you can narrow the search by returning to the Query page and typing in JONES, George or even JONES, George Henry and then clicking on "Find". The search results will show exact matches AND the list page that Jones is on. (Remember that Jones may be in the text and not just as a surname listing!) By default the search engine tries to locate pages which have exact matches for all of the words entered in your search query. If that fails, it then tries to locate pages which contain any words in your search query. If that happens a short message is displayed at the top of the search results indicating this has been done. In addition, there are several ways to modify the default search behavior. - + and - qualifiers
If you precede a word with + that word is required to be on the page.
If you precede a word with - that word is required to not be on the page.
Example: Your ancestor is George Jones, but in your previous searches, the results brings up pages of George Henry Jones and he is NOT your ancestor! This qualifier can eliminate that result:
JONES, +George -Henry (Remember to always place a space between the 2 qualifiers.)
- * wildcard
If a query word ends with a * all words on a page which start the same way as that query word will match.
Example: This allows for a type of soundex system search for the ending of a surname only! You ancestor is CLARK, but may be CLARKE. To find both variations, use: CLARK*
- ? wildcard
If a query word contains a ? any character will match that position.
Example: Your surname is Olson, but you know that there may be Olsen that you should look at also Ols?n will bring up both variations. All of these techniques can be combined. Disclaimer: The information presented within A Genealogy Experience and it's communities (Resource Center, Surnames and Social Sidebar) is presented for educational and entertainment purposes only. Statements and opinions expressed throughout this site should not be considered fact or advice. A Genealogy Experience presents the material within these sites without any kind of guarantee, expressed or implied, and is not responsible for any type of loss or damage caused by anyone's dependence on the information contained within these sites. | 
