“Genealogy is the second fastest growing hobby in the United States, next to gardening.”

As a quick method for such comparisons I check out Googles Trends

First enter Genealogy. Above we see proportional volume and below appearance in the news. From total volume, is what we see initial excitement or just hobbyists overwhelmed by the masses? The news shows a steady increase.

Next enter Gardening. This is cyclical but also increasing. Try adding similar topics: vegetables is steady, organic and farmers market are popular.

Google Trends: Genealogy versus Gardening

Now enter ‘gardening, genealogy’ to get this result which shows genealogy as more popular but figuring less in the news.

The results are most probably skewed by the on-line nature of research and the off-line essence of growing but given this, the relative presence of the former and the strength of the latter is certainly interesting reflection on the growth in the importance of the internet in all aspects of our lives.

So of the two try and guess which is my preference…!

Here is their distribution of Goodstadt:

They seem to be using similar sources principally the phone book. This isn’t very impressive but might help give leads if reaching dead ends in research. Here is for example what they list as similar names:
Gedstad, Gutstadt, Godsted, Gedestad, Goodstat, Gautestad, Gjedsted, Guttstadt.

There are many examples of mapping service. The National Trust Names covers the UK in 1881 and 1998 and produced by the Public Profiler. To search however requires a minimum of 100 people with the surname on UK Electoral Register in 1998.

Others like Roots Maps are orientated towards the sale of software or images and have databases limited to the most popular surnames. A surname like Goodstadt does not appear.

In the end I am sure that this will be gradually expanded to include less common names. It is for such surnames that this type of information has real value giving a visual guide as to where to focus on looking. But until such times as there are tools which can map from explicit, complete and global sources such maps provide little concrete information.

The site is has a more modern style than its Scottish sister site. It has a global search on the front page, a great little family tree generator and a wide of UK records.

There are various payment options such as vouchers bought at local libraries, pay-per-view and subsciptions. Used at the same rate of around 300 units per month these would work out at approximately 12, 9 and 3 pence per unit respectively. Whilst a subscription is obviously the best choice, this large varition reflects a flexibility of form of use and purchase.given the wide difference in needs and resources between researchers this an real benefit.

However basic research up to the year 1909 of Births, Marriages and Deaths (BMD) seems to be no more than can be found on FreeBMD, a free and user maintained version of the same. FreeBMD is an ongoing project so will eventually have all records transcribed.

What is most frustrating is that, unlike a Scottish online search, these records are not a complete record giving only area, date and name in brief. To find out parentage and other details English or Welsh certificates have to be purchased separately as a traditional paper copy from the General Registry Office (GRO). This is best achieved by supply what they call the GRO Reference which is the year, quarter, volume number and page for your entry. This can be obtained from both Find My Past and FreeBMD.

The prices for GRO certificate orders are not as you might expect in the Online Ordering FAQ but they are given in the Order Certificates section of the website under Fees. Ordering online saves you £1.50 such that a Full certificate obtained by supplying the GRO with a GRO index reference costs £7.00 rather than £8.50. If you are in real hurry you can use the Pripority service which costs an additional £16.00. If you do not have a GRO reference you will have to pay an extra £3.00.

So if you are starting out a £64.95 1 year Discovery subscription to Find My Past might be better invested in ordering 9 certificates from the GRO. Having said that remember that Find My Past will become increasingly useful as you near the present day and as your need to branch out and crosscheck increases over time. And it does have that very cute online Family Tree Explorer to help you document what you find!

PS. In addition to the guides and FAQs on the GRO site check out Babara Dixon’s guide for clear explanation of the GRO ordering process from a users perspective.

From World Names at Public Profiler

According to them (statistics are in Frequency Per Million – FPM):

Roots Of This Name:

Surname    Group    Subgroup    Language
Goodstadt    Celtic    Irish    English

Top Countries

Country    Fpm
United Kingdom    0.7
United States    0.51

Top Regions

1. North West , UK    3.06
2. New York , US    2.23
3. Connecticut , US    1.88
4. Pennsylvania , US    1.55
5. Maryland , US    1.39
6. South West , UK    1.03
7. Florida , US    0.89
8. Scotland , UK    0.75
9. South East , UK    0.64
10. Minnesota , US    0.6

Top Cities

1. Salford, UK
2. Manchester, UK
3. Sale, UK
4. Bedford, UK
5. Milton Keynes, UK
6. Glasgow, UK
7. Hemel Hempstead, UK
8. Chippenham, UK
9. Brooklyn , New York , US
10. Swindon, UK

Top Forenames

1. Paul
2. Ellen
3. Sheldon
4. Matthew
5. David
6. Anne
7. Harry
8. Leonard
9. Vincent
10. Stephanie

Article from the BBC

“A website which maps global surnames has been launched to help people find the origins of their name and how far it may have spread.
The Public Profiler site plots eight million last names using data from electoral rolls and phone directories.
The site covers 300 million people in 26 countries, showing the origins of names and where families have moved to.
The site – www.publicprofiler.org/worldnames – also reveals which of the five million forenames are most closely associated with different surnames and lists the top regions and cities for each surname.
It was developed by a team of geographers from University College London.
Professor Paul Longley, one of the researchers, said: “The information is not just historical but geographical.
“We can link names to places – a name is now not just a statement of who you are but where you are.”