A guide to the surnames that offers an insight into the place of origin, the occupations - and even the personality traits - of our ancestors. It is suitable for those intrigued by the story of their name and by the history of their family.

John Titford, born in Holloway Road, London, was educated at Haberdashers' Aske's School Hampstead/Elstree, St John's College, Cambridge, the Sorbonne in Paris and at the universities of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and San Francisco. Formerly a teacher and lecturer in English language and literature in schools and colleges, he now lives in Derbyshire, where he works as a writer, broadcaster, researcher and genealogical bookseller. He has lectured regularly on family history, dialect and related topics throughout Britain, in the United States of America, New Zealand and elsewhere. The author of a number of books on dialect, communication and media studies and family history, he is a liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Scriveners, Chairman of Examiners for the Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies, and was elected a Fellow of the Society of Genealogists in 2004.