Fun tip for ideas on what surnames to work on next

Question

Are you feeling like working on a random surname, but don't know what to work on next?

Next time you watch a movie, take note of surnames that pique your interest from the movie credits! Alternatively, you can look it up on the internet the full cast and crew of any movie or TV show that comes to mind.
IMDb is a pretty good website for that, especially after you Google the movie name and cast & crew (and the year it was released, if there are multiple versions of the movie), as it will take you right to the list instead of navigating through the IMDb wesite trying to find the list, but you can choose any website you prefer, too.

Keep in mind, though, working on those who are still living is best avoided so it's easier for any project members to work on them later. It's more ideal to work on those who are long-deceased with several records on them, such as census, birth, and death/burial sources.

Answer 1

This sounds like a good sub project of the Notables Project.

Answer 2

Perhaps it's my rambling intellect, a by-product of my waning years, but when researching through a location for any tidbit I can find pertaining to a direct ancestor I'll come across an interesting person. Maybe it's the name or the circumstances of their residency, what-ever it is that attracts my eye at that point in time I'll flip over to WikiTree just to see if there's a profile. Interestingly, about 8 times out of 10, there will be and it usually needs improvement. So.....

Trust me, when you have free time to spend this is a much more satisfying activity than, say, watching reruns on the 'boob tube'. :-)

Answer 3

Why restrict yourself to unusual names. Often the common names are the most difficult. I'm focused on my family connections of the Winn's in Durham and it's spaghetti junction. That doesn't even scratch the Welsh guys let alone the Americans. So if you want to get your teeth into something, try a Winn or Smith or Brown etc etc 

But yes some light relief from difficulty can be welcome.

Comments

Literally any name can pique my interest. It doesn't always have to be an unusual name to make me interested in working on it. When last time I watched a Batman movie, I saw a common surname in the credits and just... felt like working on it for the same reason you mention. Some days I feel like working on surnames that haven't been added on WikiTree yet, other days I'll work on common names, and still other days I'll pick a random one I either like and have heard of, or looks complicated to spell.
The reasons why I pick all of them on a whim, besides the reason I just do better doing whatever I feel like working on whenever: I like including everyone. It partly stems from childhood, often feeling left out, forgotten, teased, or bullied (ironically, not due to my own name. If it did ever happen, I don't remember, and nobody probably did because it sounds too close to a bad cussword, and kids would have gotten in deep, deep trouble for it), so my own experienced heightened my empathy for others. In this case, putting myself in others' shoes. On one hand, you have less common names that have the least people working on them. On the other hand, those whose families have common names need all the help they can get, drowning in the great sea of that one name that so many share, yet so many aren't even related to each other. This is because many were given the surname after generations of a profession being carried down through a family, or simply from being called something like John the Smith shortly before surnames came about.

Speaking of which, I did try working on some Smith's since I have a friend who doesn't hardly know anything about his lineage. I ran into a frustrating brick wall, however, so I had to take a break from it. Lately, I've been working on Cooper's in my close family, branches I had missed when I was new on WikiTree. I'm eager to find record of one being recorded as a barrel maker/repairer (cooper). It was once a very important profession, just as smiths were. So far, just farmers and a pastor, though.

Thank you for noting this reminder to others, though! When I get more time (currently helping a family member recover from a surgery), maybe I'll swing through some random Winn's, if I remember. ...Ah! I know! I'll do a few older ones, dating back to the 1500s. Looking back in my list of contributions and seeing them will make a good reminder.

This Winn's record (not much to go on, yet at least) contains an image of beautiful handwriting in a parish book: [[Winn-3516|Framers Winn (-abt.1588)]]
Gotta love old handwriting.