Is your surname one of the most common in the UK?

New dictionary uncovers the origins of more than 45,000 of the most popular names

Mo Farah
(Image credit: Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

A team of university researchers has revealed the origins of more than 45,000 of the most popular surnames in the UK and Ireland in a new dictionary published today.

The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland is the work of researchers who spent four years looking at a variety of names, from the most common to the highly obscure.

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