FAQs
We hope you will find answers to the most frequently asked questions on this page. If you have further questions please get in touch.
1. What is Million Surnames about?
We were reading 'Purpose-driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For?' by Rick Warren and we got inspired to combine our interest in family history with our Internet skills. Having a particularly unusual surname, we have found it difficult to find information on our family surname. This lead to us wondering how many surnames there are out there.
We began to wonder whether we could provide a website that may even get into the Guinness Book of Records for creating the biggest list of surnames on the Internet.
Running a website doesn't come cheap, especially when it has a lot of information on it and has a lot of traffic. Hence we have to charge for each submission.
That got us onto thinking...
2. What's the point in paying for a submission?
The answer we came up with was links. Every website owner wants more links to their website. Many website directories charge a lot of money for links and even then only keep the link up for 1 or 2 years. We guarantee to keep this website online for a minimum of 5 years.
3. how much does it cost?
US$10 to include a surname, it's origin and description.
US$15 to also include a link.
See below for inclusion of subsequent links.
4. Why is payment in dollars?
Million Surnames lists surnames from all over the world. If we use UK Pounds, it could be very expensive for individuals who are just keen on sponsoring a surname. When payment is made your credit card will automatically charge you in your local currency the amount equivalent to the amount chosen in US Dollars.
5. Do I have to have a link?
No. If you want to add your surname to the list without a link that is fine. Remember - our aim is to get one million surnames and to create a history.
6. What benefit do I get if I do not have a link?
You will be adding your surname to a piece of Internet history and make your family proud. Also, once the website is successful, a large proportion of the profits will be donated to charity.
7. Why pay extra for a link?
Adding a link to a website improves its search engine ranking. Search engine directories often charge an annual fee for including a link. MillionSurnames.com guarantees that it will be live for a minimum of 5 years from the date it was first made live, making it a very cost effective link.
8. Can a surname have more than one link?
We allow surnames to have more than one link. However, in the interest of keeping links relevant, we require additional links to be ONLY to websites that include the surname within it's website name or title. Each additional link costs US$15 irregardless whether it is the first link or a subsequent link.
9. Who would benefit most from purchasing a link?
Many businesses trade on a person's name. Artists, Painters, Designers, Photographers, Solicitors, Lawyers, Decorators, Plumbers, Authors, Film-makers, Musicians, Builders - the list is so long it is impossible to list them all. All people who trade on their own name are the ones that will benefit most from purchasing a link. That is not to say that we will turn away submissions from businesses that have a brand-name. But if you trade on your own name - why not get a link before an enterprising business usurps your name. We also hope that owners of family trees will also purchase links.
10. Why are certain links not acceptable?
Imagine the link beside your own surname was to an adult, gambling or offensive website. There will be a good proportion of people that would be offended by this. Our bottom line is that a website should be okay for a child to visit. If this is the case then we will include the link.
11. Are there a million surnames out there?
We looked into this an found evidence that there are up to 100,000 British surnames. We calculate that if this is true then adding together the number of Chinese, French, German, Russian, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese etc surnames then there are lots more than 1,000,000 surnames out there.
12. What happens when you reach a million surnames?
Celebrate!
13. What will you do with the money?
We will spend the money in the following ways:
- Maintainence of the website.
- Checking Links. We need to check that links that have been submitted don't link to anything we're not comfortable with - see submitting links guidelines.
- Updating the website.
- Website Hosting. This gets increasingly more expensive the more popular the website is. We need to ensure the funds are there for this eventuality.
- After that, we wish to give away a large proportion of the profits to charity.
14. WhAT ARE THE CHARITIES YOU ARE PLANNING TO SUPPORT?
We wish to support a Missionary association and our local Church. Whether we are able to donate to them depends on the success of the website. Once we are at a stage where we are able to donate to charities we will name the beneficiaries on this website, unless they prefer to remain anonymous. Until then we will keep their names from the public domain in order to prevent false hope.
15. Why should I pay to submit a surname?
Because you will have a surname and a link to your site on our site that could potentially be seen by millions of people over the coming years. The site will be online for at least 5 years, that's guaranteed, but the idea is to keep it online forever. So you really could own a piece of 'internet history'!
16. How long will the site be online?
We guarantee to keep the site online for 5 years (at least until 20th January 2011), however the aim is to keep the site online forever (or as long as is humanly and financially possible).
We hope the website will develop into the most extensive list of surnames on the Internet and perhaps enabling people to find their missing relatives. We hope to create something of an internet surname capsule. In an age where everything keeps changing so fast on the internet, it is good to be part of creating something that will stay solid and permanent for many years. You too can be a part of that!
- What is Million Surnames about?
- What's the point in paying for a submission?
- How much does it cost?
- Why is payment in dollars?
- Do I have to have a link?
- What benefit do I have if I do not have a link?
- Why pay extra for a link?
- Can a surname have more than one link?
- Who would benefit most from purchasing a link?
- Why are certain links not acceptable?
- Are there a million surnames out there?
- What will happen when you reach a million surnames?
- What will you do with the money?
- What are the charities you are planning to support?
- Why should I pay to submit a surname?
- How long will the site be online?