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Surname Heatmaps
Coming soon! Surname heat maps are a great way to find your needle in a haystack family when you don't have a lot to go on. If you find a large concentration of that surname, you're more likely to find your family.
I haven't found a compilation of all of these on a website, so I'm going to make one.
Germany
Geogen shows you concentrations of surnames in the different regions of Germany. It's unclear if this is based on modern data or historical data.
NVK or Namensverbreitungskarte shows you the concentration of a surname in 1890 and in 1996. Even if your family left Germany before 1890, there's a great chance relatives stayed behind and would be listed.
Ireland
JohnGrenham.com shows you concentrations of surnames in the different parishes in Ireland and Northern Ireland. This data is based on locations recorded from the 1840s to the 1860s. You can also search for the intersection of 2 names, so if you know both surnames of a couple, you can further narrow down where they could have been from. This site allows for several free searches per day and a paid subscription after you reach that limit.