can i find out the nationality of a person by their last name on the internet?

Question

I need to know where a certain person is from. would it be on the internet, different nationalities last names

Answer 1

http://www.ancestry.com/learn/facts/default.aspx?ln=
will tell you where the name originated, if there are enough people with that name in the USA to warrant an entry. As everyone else has said, it isn't foolproof.

"John Lee", for instance, might be related to the CSA General or he might be Chinese. "Park" is English and Korean. Lots of people named "Smith" (English) were "Schmidt" (German, Swiss, Austrian) before they came through Ellis Island.

There are 4th-generaton Americans, Australians, Canadians and South Africans with English, Scottish, Irish, Indian and Chinese names. The President of Peru for several years was named Fujimoro (sp?) His son, if that's your person, would have a Japanese last name but be from Peru.

Answer 2

You can guess but can't tell for sure because people are scattered all over the world. I ran into a black man whose last name was Pandya while other was a Patel. I thought that Pandya and Patels are from India! I think sooner or later I will meet an Arab with a name- Mahatma Gandhi.

Answer 3

You might be able to determine what a person's ancestry is based on their last name, especially if the name is obvious. But in some cases it's not so easy. In my family, the last name was anglicized from German to English when my great-great-grandfather came to the United States, so unless you know more about my family it might not be obvious where my family was from originally.

Answer 4

Don't count on it being accurate. Some people change their names for different reasons--for example marriage, professional reasons, they have been a victim of identity theft....Anyway, if you want to know where they are from just ask the person. Most people are happy to tell you where they are from or their heritage--for example I am of German/Scottish/English lineage

Answer 5

you may find out the origin of the name but it won't necessarily reflect the nationality of the person using that name. it may only represent the father or husband's nationality.

anothe possibility is that the person is adopted.

Answer 6

Yes and no, because I am sure with my last name either married or maiden name you could not guest where I was from. Except of course for my name here you can.

Answer 7

I think it's easy.Write the name and web search and you will see in that language it's will appear.

Answer 8

Maybe. Try searching for "xxxx surname origin" and see what you come up with.