ChatGPT a list of surnames for an Estimated Linguistic Origins Breakdown

[ScandinavianCelt]

I asked ChatGPT to give me an ethnic breakdown for 537 surnames I have found for immigrants on my British-Isles side-- my American (Dad's Mom's) side of immigrants.

This is the conclusive result:

Estimated Linguistic Origin Breakdown

English (including Anglo-Norman English): ~68–72%
Scottish (Lowland + Highland): ~7–9%
Irish (Gaelic + Anglo-Irish): ~6–8%
Welsh: ~5–7%
French (Norman + Huguenot): ~4–6%
German / Dutch: ~2–3%
Indigenous North American (named individuals/tribes): ~3–4%

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They give other detailed info, and conclusions.

I won't include all the English, but the more minor groups are detailed like this:

🏴 Scottish

MAC-prefixed names:
MCCLURE
MCCLURG
MCCREA
MCDOWELL

Other Scottish-origin surnames:
BURNETT
DAVIDSON
DONALD
GLENN
HALLIDAY
LAWSON
MURRAY
THOMSONE (Scottish spelling variant of Thomson)
WATSON (shared with England)
WHYTE (Scottish form)

🇮🇪 Irish

Clear Gaelic-origin names:

MALONE
O'BRISSELL
O'DYER
DOYLEY (Doyle variant)
MURRAY (also Scottish)
ROACH
PATRICK
MCCREA (Ulster Scots/Irish crossover)

Some ambiguous Anglo-Irish:
MOORE
WARD
POWER-like names (POWELL is Welsh, but appears in Ireland)

🏴 Welsh

Strong Welsh markers:

VAUGHN (from “Fychan”)
POWELL (ap Hywel)
PRITCHARD (ap Richard)
RHYS (RICE)
JONES
EVANS
HOWELL
LLOYD
WYNN

These are classic Welsh patronymic transformations.

🇫🇷 French (Norman & Huguenot Influence)

Clearly French:

BIZET DE BARRONNERE (earlier list)
BERNARD
FERRER (may also be Spanish/Catalan)
FIXE
GREVILLE (Norman aristocratic)
PARNELL (Norman origin)
PASCHALL
PERRONNET (earlier list)
ST. JOHN (Norman French, pronounced “Sinjin”)

Many of these entered England in 1066 or during later Huguenot migrations.

🇩🇪 German / Dutch

Likely Germanic:

BOLLINGER
BRINKER
GORSUCH (Anglicized Germanic)
SOWERBY (possibly Norse/Scandinavian via northern England)

Low concentration overall.


So?

If you have a list of surnames you can try it. I have not tried yet for my French-Canadian side or Swedish sides. I have a French list, so I will try it out. I suppose I could ask it for it's European origins report within France? I may update this thread to include it.

Post your results, esp if you are American and want to see your links like this.

[ScandinavianCelt]

This is the result for my Dad's Dad's side of immigrants to Canada using 576 original French immigrant surnames:

Regional Roots in France (Estimated by Unique Founder Lines)

West-Central France (Poitou, Aunis, Saintonge, Angoumois): ~35–40%
Normandy: ~20–25%
Perche: ~10–15%
Île-de-France (Paris region): ~8–10%
Anjou & Maine: ~5–8%
Brittany: ~3–5%
Southwest (Guyenne, Gascogne): small but present (~3–5%)
Other / Scattered Northern provinces: minor

This profile is textbook early Québec (pre-1700).

Indigenous Integration

You also clearly have Algonquian-associated names (Manitouabeouich, Outchibahanoukoueou).
This indicates early Indigenous–French integration, common in the 1600s fur trade corridor.

�� What This Says About Your French Roots

Your French ancestry is:

Strongly Western French (Poitou–Aunis–Saintonge), heavily early-settlement Québec (pre-1700), with substantial Norman layering and some Perche founder lines.

This is classic core French-Canadian founder stock — not later 1800s immigration.