Where in the world?

If you’re not aware of it, the Forbears.io website (launched in 2012) is a fascinating website for information on surname location information.  You should first note that the mobile version of the website is not as robust with features as the desktop version.  Furthermore, it doesn’t seem to be functioning as well as it used to (more on that later).

Among other useful features, Forebears.io can provide a “heat map” of surnames that will allow you to hone in on the current locations of where the surname is located across the globe.  Furthermore, it will provide you with an actual number of individuals within each country.  Looking at the world map below, we can see that the population density of Mirannes is currently greatest in France (88), followed by the United States (82).  (It should suffice to say that it was a good move on the part of old Casimir to have come to the U.S. from a Darwinian point of view.) Of course, those numbers have to be taken with a “grain of salt”:  data takes time to catch up.  Furthermore, the site doesn’t appear to take into account female Mirannes that have married and changed their last names.  

You should note that if you zoom in on the map (on the Forebears.io website – this is just an image) you will see places like French Guiana (South America), the islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique (French West Indies), and Corsica (Mediterranean) colored as well.  These areas are included in the data provided for France since these are their colonies or protectorates.  It doesn't always mean that there are Mirannes there, but in this case it does (Guadeloupe, specifically). The map can be a bit deceptive.  For example, it may seem as if France proper has the majority of Mirannes when in reality 61 of those 88 individuals are located on the small Caribbean Island of Guadeloupe!  To see this you have to also look at the tabular data that appears below the map on the website.  There you can see that the breakdown of Mirannes by region (or “colony”) is as follows:

Guadeloupe  (French West Indies)      61

Ile-de-France (Paris area)                        19

Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes                           2

Brittany                                                       1

Grande Est                                                 1

Hauts-de-France                                        1

Normandy                                                  1

Nouvelle-Aquitane                                     1

Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur                     1

Not what you were expecting?  I’ve known about this “Caribbean Connection” for a while, but it will take some explaining to cover that topic (Spoiler alert!  We used to be in Argentina!).  The takeaway here is that most of our forebears in France have died out.  There appear to be very few left in Casimir’s home (“Nouvelle Aquitaine” is the region that includes the Bordeaux area).

As far as our North American Mirannes are concerned, I wouldn’t go as far as to say we were multiplying like rabbits, but there are almost as many here as in French-speaking areas of the world.

Here is the United States breakdown:

Louisiana                         31

New York                        22

Washington                    6

Tennessee                      5

Michigan                          4

Arizona                             3

Georgia                             3

California                         2

Mississippi                      1

District of Columbia     1

New Mexico                  1

Oregon                             1

Texas                                1

 This distribution doesn't come as any surprise to me based on the "first family" history provided by my late aunt Yvonne Murphy, which I will publish soon.

Now it used to be that the Forbears.io website had the ability to see these maps change through the course of time, but it appears that this functionality has been lost.  That was a shame because you could then see how individuals spread from Louisiana to other states as they years progressed.