What is SurnameGuessr?
SurnameGuessr is a daily geography game. Each day you are shown ten surnames and asked to click the country of origin on a world map. A new set of surnames is released every day at midnight on your clock.
How is scoring calculated?
Each correct guess earns 1,000 points, giving a maximum daily score of 10,000. There is also a language bonus of 400 points awarded when your guess is in the wrong country but shares the same language family as the surname’s true origin — for example, guessing Portugal when the answer is Brazil. This rewards geographic and linguistic reasoning even when you are not exactly right.
Where do the surnames come from?
Every surname in the game has been verified to have a clear country of origin. The dataset is enriched using NamSor, a specialist name-analysis service that uses machine learning to determine a name’s origin by country and language. Names that are too ambiguous — common across many regions — are filtered out in favour of surnames with a strong, identifiable origin signal.
Are the surnames real?
Yes. All surnames in the game are real surnames used by real people. They are not invented. The game draws from a curated database spanning countries across all continents.
How do streaks work?
Your streak counts how many consecutive days you have completed the daily game. Playing an archive game does not affect your streak — only completing the current day's game does. Missing a day resets your streak to zero.
Can I play past games?
Yes. The archive contains every past daily game. You can play any of them at any time without affecting your current streak or daily score.
What does the language bonus mean exactly?
When a surname originates in a country you did not guess, but the country you guessed shares the same language as the true origin country, you earn 400 points instead of zero. For example, if the surname is Portuguese in origin and you click Spain, you earn the language bonus because both countries share a closely related Iberian Romance language. This mechanic reflects the real linguistic patterns that surnames carry.
What is the daily full name game?
The full name game shows you the full name of a real public figure and asks you to guess their country of origin. It tests the same surname-origin intuition but adds the first name as an additional signal. This mode is available to premium subscribers.
What do I get with a premium subscription?
Premium unlocks region-specific game modes (Europe, Asia & Pacific, Africa), the daily full name game, and unlimited practice mode. The daily game is free and will always remain free. See the upgrade page for current pricing.
Is the game educational?
That is the intent. Playing regularly builds a genuine awareness of surname patterns across world geography and language families. You start to recognise regional suffixes and prefixes, distinguish between similar-sounding name traditions from different cultures, and develop a mental map of how the world’s names are distributed — without any of it being taught explicitly.
Do I need an account to play?
No. The daily game is playable without an account. Creating a free account lets you track your streak, view your stats over time, and appear on the daily leaderboard.
How do I report a wrong answer?
If you believe a surname has been assigned the wrong country of origin, please contact us. Every reported surname is reviewed against primary sources before any changes are made.