Britain's rarest surnames (that are at risk of dying out!) - The 2011 census data reveals that these are the rarest surnames in the UK. Is yours in there?

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Sallow - Sallow was a medieval word for willow. The name would have been applied to a person who lived near one.

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Villin -

Villin reportedly referred to a commoner. Myheritage.com reports that there were only two people on the 2009 electoral roll by the name of Villin.

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Fernsby - Fernsby is reportedly a hybrid of the Old English word for fern, "fearn", and the Danish suffix "by", indicating a settlement or farmstead. That makes the name an indicator of someone who lives near the ferns.

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Dankworth - This name is reported to be a shortening of the Old German name, Tancred, combined with the Anglo-Saxon suffix "-worth", meaning farmstead. That means that the name probably means "the farmstead belonging to Tancred".

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Dankworth - The most famous British Dankworth may be jazz musician John Dankworth, who was married to singer Cleo Laine.

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Relish - Do you know a Mr. Relish? The word was reportedly first recorded in English during the 14th century, to refer to "taste or flavour". It has been recorded as a rare name since the 19th century.

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MacQuoid - There are reportedly only two examples of the surname MacQuoid in British electoral records. It seems likely that the name is related to MacQuaid and MacKay.

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Birdwhistle - This is another surname taken from a place. The meaning of the place name has been interpreted as a fork or junction on a river where birds nest.

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Loughty - Loughty is thought to be a variation of Lochty, the name of two villages in Tayside, and that the name was given to people from those places.

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Miracle - Miracle is Welsh in origin and was reportedly first recorded in Anglesey. It is said to be derived from the name Meuric, which is the Welsh form of Maurice.

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Berrycloth - This name is taken from Barrowclough, a town in West Yorkshire. The derivation of the place name is reportedly from the Old English "beara", meaning grove or wood, and “cloh”, a ravine or steep slope.

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Culpepper - Culpepper was an occupational name for a herbalist or spicer. It's another name that is dying out.

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Spinster - This name has been attached to unmarried women since medieval times, when single women often used the domestic spinning wheel. The surname’s earliest record is reportedly John le Spinner, in 1270.

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Edevane - This is thought to be from Cornish heritage, and developed into the more common surname Vaughan.

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Bread - Baker is a common last name, but do you knows a Mrs. Bread? Although there were Breads recorded in the mid-20th century, the name is thought to have died out.

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Ajax - This unusual surname reportedly arrived in Wales in the late 17th century. It is possible that the name was brought by French Huguenot's refugees fleeing religious persecution.

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Gastrell - There are reportedly 44 Gastrells in nationwide electoral records. The family crest is a snarling lion’s head.

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Tumbler - This one is thought to be from acrobats. There is reportedly a small number of Tumblers located in Strathclyde.

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Calendar names - Having a surname that is a month of the year is also reportedly dying out. Those that have been recorded as names are January, February, April, June, September, October, November and December.

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Pussett, Puscat and Pussmaid - Some medieval nicknames became surnames, including Pussett, Puscat and Pussmaid.

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Pussett, Puscat and Pussmaid - It has been purported that these names were used affectionately and probably most often applied to a little girl by her parents. They have largely vanished from registers in the last century.

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MacCaa - MacCaa is reportedly a phonetic variation of MacKay, meaning "son of Aoh".

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Smith - On the other end of the scale, some names are hugely common. Smith refers to the occupation of blacksmith and is reportedly the most prevalent surname in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and the USA.

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Smith - Although the name is derived from the occupation, many later Smiths had no connection to metalwork. Instead, they were reportedly given the surname because of its commonness, to remain anonymous or because of uncertainty of parentage.

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Jones - Jones is most common in Wales and south-central England.

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Jones -

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What's in a name? - There are numerous explanations for the decline and disappearance of certain British surnames. Occupational surnames like Smith were obvious choices when last names started to be recorded in the 13th century. Henry VIII made it compulsory for marital births to be recorded under the surname of the father.

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What's in a name? - It is theorised that the Napoleonic wars and World War I, which saw entire generations of young men wiped out, reduced the number of people using surnames relating to the villages from where they came.

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What's in a name? - Migration also led to some names leaving the UK and others coming here. Immigrants have historically anglicised their names and made new monikers.

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