Forebears have added the ability to map surname distribution across around 20,000 second-level administrative divisions (subregions) in sixty-six countries; from Australia to Venezuela. Several more countries will be added later in the year; with more due to be added in the future, including India and Pakistan. Maps will also be added for twenty-four third-level administrative divisions and four fourth-level divisions. The ability to map surnames across regions and subregions at a global level (i.e. multiple countries) will also be added in the future.

You can view distribution maps of over 26 million surnames by searching here.

This higher resolution is useful to more accurately pin-point the possible place of origin of a surname. As can be seen when mapping the North Caucus surname, Magomedov, a regional variant of Mohammed, meaning 'praiseworthy'. The regional map shows the surname distributed unevenly throughout the Russian Federation.

While the subregional map shows the surname tightly concentrated in a small number of districts in Dagestan.

Subregional maps also show the tight ethno-linguistic divisions in Africa; a continent which has seen very little migration until recent decades; and where distribution of DNA haplogroups is very narrow.

Uganda is predominantly split between two language groups: Nilotic in the north and Bantu in the south. We find the Lou (Nilotic) surname, Akello, meaning 'born after twins', heavily concentrated in the north (Nilotic Uganda) and barely present in the south (Bantu Uganda).

While the Bantu surname, Mbabazi, meaning 'grace' or 'kindness', is primarily found in the south and very rare in the north.

Subregional maps may also be useful in identifying possible places of origin for immigrant ancestors and migration patterns to former colonies. Many people in the Americas are unsure of their country of origin and locating a paper trial back to the hometown of their immigrant ancestor can be difficult. Using subregional surname maps can give indicators of regions their ancestors may have came from, giving avenues for further research.

In the case of subregional surname maps, they allow us to see that the Spanish immigrant family of Villota, meaning 'village', is primary concentrated in around thirty municipalities on the Ecuador-Colombia border.

The ability to map surnames across subregions has been added for the following countries:

Argentina, Australia, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, El Salvador, England, France, Georgia, Germany, Honduras, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Maldives, Mauritania, Mexico, Nepal, Niger, Northern Ireland, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Saint Helena Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Uganda, United States and Venezuela.