Project: One Name Studies

Welcome to the
One Name Studies Project

Are you looking for ONS Help?
See the Getting Started Guide!

About the Project

A One Name Study (ONS) is a project that focuses on researching all occurrences of an individual surname. The objective of a one-name study is not just the collection of data and names; The ultimate aim of an ONS is to research the genealogy and family history of all persons with a given surname. As a part of an ONS, researchers attempt to identify and understand items including, but not limited to:

Name origins (or earliest references);
Name meanings (are they matronymic, occupational, patronymic, toponymic, etc.);
The relative frequency or distribution of the surname;
Patterns in migration; and
Name variations and specific name branches.

WikiTree Projects: One Name Studies

How to Join

Are you interested in the One Name Studies Project?

Project Leaders: Jacqueline Baxter, Amy Gilpin and Kylie Haese
Coordinators: Sarah Mason and Christine Daniels
Answer our G2G welcome post to join the One Name Studies project and get a badge.
Add one_name_studies to your followed tags.
We use G2G for communication.
Check out our maintenance categories for our project needs, then jump in and start helping!
Here is the One Name Studies project's Suggestion List. Working on these is a great way to contribute.
One Name Studies Project Member List.
Here is what our members are working on.

Requirements

Since WikiTree already has a multitude of One Name Studies available, chances are you don't need to meet any specific requirements, other than being willing to help out! Check the index of surnames to see if an ONS project already exists. If there is an existing name study project:

Send a private message to the name study's coordinator or post a comment on the page to let them know you wish to join the study.
Discuss with them your interests and how you can help.
Add one_name_studies to your list of followed tags. That way you'll see all our discussions in G2G!

If an ONS project does not yet exist for a particular surname, that means we need you to help coordinate it! ONS Projects are lead by ONS Coordinators. These coordinators help to organize surname projects and teams as a genealogical collaboration platform that is centered around a particular name.

Taking on the role of an ONS Coordinator is a serious commitment. In order to become an ONS Coordinator, you must have:

signed the Honor Code;
been on WikiTree for at least 90 days; and

This commitment also requires collaboration requests and inquiries related to your Name Study to be responded to in a reasonable period, and that you accept the following principles in relation to your Name Study:

that it has a global scope;
that it includes research within countries or time periods where sources of genealogical data are readily available; and
that it will research and store all data in WikiTree as the core genealogical dataset.

Of course, you can always work at your own pace, and with your own priorities - but you should never prohibit members from providing their own research as well.

While these may sound like strong restrictions, these requirements are in place to ensure that ONS coordinators are familiar with WikiTree's Mission, Styles and Standards and understand the collaborative nature of coordinating a project. Because name studies require attention, we are limited the number of name studies to three per WikiTree user for the coordinator position. A user may otherwise contribute to any name study of interest to them.

Even if you do not currently meet the requirements to become a Coordinator for a Name Study, you are still invited to participate with any existing Name Study!

If you are ready to get started — send an email to the Project Leaders letting us know which surname project you would like to start. We will do the legwork to get you going and notify you once you are ready to go!

This page was last modified 14:07, 15 February 2024. This page has been accessed 108,938 times.