Have you ever wondered if your surname was also popular outside of Singapore? Or how many people in Singapore have your surname?
Your name can contain a lot of data – you can find ancestors, where that people with that surname are distributed across the globe, and much more. But if you’re just curious, you can search for your own surname on Forebears, a website that’s dedicated to mapping out mentions of about 11 million surnames since 2012 (so for sure your surname will be on that list).
Not only will you find how many people have your surname, you’ll also be able to see how many people outside of Singapore have your surname. It also shows you other (interesting bits of) data, like how much someone with your surname earns on average (only in select countries) and what your surname means (not for all surnames though), or how it may be alternatively spelled.
While the info may be fun, some of it’s not really that surprising.
For example, if your surname was Lim, then you have the second highest prevalence in Singapore and Malaysia, and there are quite a few Lims in the Philippines, Cambodia and the USA (where there are over 44,000 Lims). And Lim beats Wong in terms of being the most popular surname in the world. If you’re a Tan, apparently the name appears most in… China, with over 8 million individuals with that surname. However, your surname ranks No. 1 in both Singapore and Malaysia in terms of prevalence.
If you’re looking for some fun with surnames, check out the Forebears website – it also allows you to search the prevalence of your first names, as well as information on a country’s data based on historical genealogical records.
For a bit of fun digging into your ancestry, check out MyHeritage – it’ll list down people with your surname by geography, events, relatives, and keywords based on historical records of over 9 billion people.
