Using the spatial analysis of family names to gain insight into demographic change

This paper describes the steps involved to prepare the largest ever quantitative analysis of the distribution of surnames in Great Britain. We describe the method to estimate approximately 1.2 million surname distributions using Kernel Density Estimates (KDEs) for seven years of historic census data and twenty years of contemporary Consumer Registers. We argue that these surname distributions could offer valuable insight into processes of contagious and hierarchical diffusion of populations as well as the regional distinctiveness of demographic change and stasis