Have you ever wondered if you might have royal blood? For centuries, royals and nobles have been seen as “fancier” than the rest of us, but the truth is, they’re just ordinary people too. In fact, research shows that with the right family names, you could be distantly related to royalty, whether you know it or not.
Listen to our brand-new royal podcast, ‘Reign Check’ – your go-to for royal news, stories, and commentary:
We’ve all probably wondered at some point if we have royal blood somewhere in our family tree. Looking specifically at the British royal family, MyHeritage has identified 35 surnames that could suggest a connection to nobility.
But it doesn’t stop there. Family History Daily has rounded up 100 more surnames that could point to royal blood in your veins… or at least a touch of aristocracy.
Their list leans on Charles H. Browning’s 1891 classic, Americans of Royal Descent, which digs through hundreds of historical documents tied to the Royal Family’s lineage.
Queen Elizabeth II, James, Viscount Severn and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh stand on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during Trooping the Colour on June 13, 2015 in London, England. The ceremony is Queen Elizabeth II’s annual birthday parade and dates back to the time of Charles II in the 17th Century, when the Colours of a regiment were used as a rallying point in battle. (Photo by Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
First, it helps to know the current royal surname, which often flies under the radar: Mountbatten-Windsor. The Windsors have been the family’s house name for centuries, but the “Mountbatten” portion comes from the late Queen Elizabeth’s husband, Prince Philip.
Philip, originally a Prince of Greece and Denmark, gave up those titles when he became a British citizen in 1947 and adopted his mother’s surname, Mountbatten. After Elizabeth ascended the throne in 1952, she decided to double-barrel the royal surname to honor her husband.
Could your surname indicate a royal connection?
Here’s a full list of potentially royal surnames:
Abel Alden Appleton Ayer Barber Barclay Beverly Binney Brooke Brown Campbell Carroll Chauncey Coleman Cooper Davis Dickinson Darling Douglas Dunbar Edwards Ellery Ellis Emmett Evans Farley Fleming Forest French Gardiner George Gerard Gerry Gibson Graham Hamilton Haynes Herbert Hill Howard Hume Irving Jackson James Jenkins Johnson Kane Kennedy Ker Key King Langdon Lawrence Lee Leonard Livingston Lloyd McCall McDonald Malcalester Montgomery Morris Morton Nelson Nicholson Nixon Norris O’Carroll Ogle Opie Parsons Patterson Peabody Pomeroy Porter Pratt Preston Quay Randolph Read Reeve Robinson Rogers Sanford Shaw Smith Sowden Stanley Taylor Townsend Turner Tyler Valentine Varson Walker Watts White Whiting Williams Young
But there’s more. Here’s another list of names might indicate aristocratic or noble connections:
Windsor Tudor Stuart Plantagenet Capet Bourbon Habsburg Hanover Valois Lancaster York Bruce de Valois de Medici Savoy Orange-Nassau Oldenburg Glucksburg Romanov Baskerville Darcy Neville Percy Astley Capell Howard Seymour Grey FitzAlan Courtenay Manners Russell Cavendish Talbot Spencer
Of course, having one of these names doesn’t automatically make you royalty, but it’s a fascinating starting point if you’re curious about your ancestry.
Remarkably, Queen Elizabeth’s family tree can be traced 1,209 years and 37 generations back with astonishing precision. Æthelstan, born around AD 895, is considered by some historians as the first true king of England.
So, next time you glance at your family tree, take a closer look, you might be more connected to history than you ever imagined. Could you find your name? Share your story in the comments!
Listen to our brand-new royal podcast, ‘Reign Check’ – your go-to for royal news, stories, and commentary: