As part of my research into the surname Adamthwaite, back in 2011, I carried out a study of the incidence of all surnames which appear in parish and manorial records for RAVENSTONEDALE in Westmorland, England at key points during the period 1379 to 1777.

 

An abridged version of my article describing the research appeared in the April 2012 issue of the Journal of One-Name Studies - links to the full version of the article and the table showing details of the incidence of the 30 most common surnames to appear in the earliest records, are shown on the left.  Although the table only shows the incidence of the 30 most frequently found surnames before 1700, I did analyse ALL surnames which appeared in the parish before 1800 (details for specific surnames available on request).

 

Surnames in this part of Westmorland appear to still have been in the process of being adopted at the time that the earliest list of tenants was recorded in the 1379 Poll Tax, so it is possible that yDNA test results will provide evidence of shared ancestry between direct line male descendants of these early families, even when they hold different surnames.

 

Ravenstonedale was then an isolated village on the fells in the upper Eden Valley of Westmorland, and a high level of intermarriage (and recorded illegitimacies) over time may also have resulted in