ABSTRACT
The works to which genealogists and family historians are most likely to turn, first and foremost, for information on family names, are the dictionaries of surnames. It should be said at once that there is no reference work to which it is possible to resort in the confidence of being able to obtain an accurate account of the origin and development of every surname to be found in Britain. Basil Cottle, Penguin Dictionary of Surnames, has the advantage of being available in paperback. It gives the origin and meaning of each surname listed, and puts each surname into one or other category. Dictionaries of surnames exist for some countries on the Continent of Europe, but few if any of these are accessible outside academic libraries, though at times they would be valuable in dealing with the origins of surnames brought into Britain by migration.
