35 surnames which mean you could be related to royalty
7 August 2025, 14:50
According to new research, if you have one of these noble surnames, you could have a connection to a Royal Family.
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When it comes to surnames, we often don't think about the history connected to them; we're simply born with a surname and go through life without giving it a second thought.
But did you know how much history can be found from just a surname? They can help reveal family trees, hint at what industry your ancestors worked in and even whether you're a distant relation to the Royal Family.
That's right, new research has revealed the surnames which could mean a family connection to one of the Royal Families around the world - and there's 35 of them.
This comes from MyHeritage, an online database that allows people to dive into their family history. Over at MyHeritage, they have identified 35 surnames that could suggest a very royal link.
- Read more: Most popular 100 baby names in UK revealed
Here's those 35 royal surnames:
- Windsor: The name of the British Royal Family, since 1917.
- Tudor: The Welsh dynasty that produced monarchs like Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.
- Stuart: A Scottish house that ruled England and Scotland in the 16th and 17th centuries.
- Plantagenet: A royal house that provided England with monarchs from Henry II to Richard III.
- Capet: The dynasty that ruled France from 987 to 1328.
- Bourbon: A European royal house that ruled France, Spain, and other territories.
- Habsburg: A prominent royal house of Europe, known for ruling the Holy Roman Empire.
- Hanover: The British royal house from George I to Queen Victoria.
- Valois: A cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty that ruled France.
- Lancaster: A branch of the Plantagenet dynasty, known for its role in the Wars of the Roses.
- York: Another Plantagenet branch, also central to the Wars of the Roses.
- Bruce: A Scottish royal house, with Robert the Bruce being a notable king.
- De Valois: A French royal house that produced several kings.
- De Medici: An influential Italian family that produced royalty and popes.
- Savoy: A royal family that once ruled parts of Italy and France.
- Orange-Nassau: The Dutch royal family.
- Oldenburg: A European royal house that includes the current Danish royal family.
- Glucksburg: A branch of the House of Oldenburg, associated with Danish and Norwegian royalty.
- Romanov: The last imperial dynasty to rule Russia.
- Baskerville: A noble family name with historical ties to English aristocracy.
- Darcy: A surname associated with medieval nobility and landowners in England and Ireland.
- Neville: A powerful English noble family with significant influence during the medieval period.
- Percy: An aristocratic English family known for their role in British history.
- Astley: A noble surname linked to the English peerage.
- Capell: A distinguished English family with historical ties to the aristocracy.
- Howard: A prominent aristocratic family in the UK, holding the title of Dukes of Norfolk.
- Seymour: The family of Jane Seymour, third wife of Henry VIII, with ties to the Dukedom of Somerset.
- Grey: Associated with Lady Jane Grey, England's nine-day queen.
- FitzAlan: A powerful medieval family, former Earls of Arundel.
- Courtenay: A noble family with connections to English and French royalty.
- Manners: The surname of the Dukes of Rutland, a high-ranking noble family.
- Russell: Connected to the Dukes of Bedford, an influential aristocratic lineage.
- Cavendish: The surname of the Dukes of Devonshire, a powerful British noble family.
- Talbot: A noble family holding the Earldom of Shrewsbury.
- Spencer: The family name of Princess Diana, tying it to the modern British royal family.
Of course, if you have one of these surnames and want to find out whether you really do have a link to royalty, you can use websites such as MyHeritage, Ancestry and Find My Past to delve deeper into your family tree.
