The best free resource to research your family's name is familysearch.org. It is run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, but it has information about all types of people. Their database has lot of government documents about possible family members that you can read. You don't have to sign up for anything. You can just type whatever name you want into their search fields, and you can look at any record they have. Most websites charge extortionate amounts of money to research the same documents that are presented for free on this website. Additional websites such as ancestry.com and familytreemaker.com, but they require users to make an account and pay a subscription fee. Sometimes they offer free trials, but they are for a limited amount of time.
If you want to see just the origin of your surname, there are a couple of websites to choose from. If you type your surname after the words "origins of" (i.e. Origins of Smith) into a search engine, ancestry.com has a link to a page that explains the meaning and origins of your surname. This particular section of ancestry.com is free for non-subscribers to view. It lets you view a map that displays the population density of people with your surname. There is a graph to display the most common occupations of people with your surname. There is also a graph that shows the life expectancy of people with your surname. The site allows you to view the immigration statistics for people with your surname as well. You can even search the meaning of your given name. There is another website called houseofnames.com that lets you view a brief history of your name. They sell products, but you can just use the website to find out more information about your surname.
If you want to see just the origin of your surname, there are a couple of websites to choose from. If you type your surname after the words "origins of" (i.e. Origins of Smith) into a search engine, ancestry.com has a link to a page that explains the meaning and origins of your surname. This particular section of ancestry.com is free for non-subscribers to view. It lets you view a map that displays the population density of people with your surname. There is a graph to display the most common occupations of people with your surname. There is also a graph that shows the life expectancy of people with your surname. The site allows you to view the immigration statistics for people with your surname as well. You can even search the meaning of your given name. There is another website called houseofnames.com that lets you view a brief history of your name. They sell products, but you can just use the website to find out more information about your surname.