What is on name studies

Question

what is one name studies and what does it do?

Answer 1

From the project page:

A One Name Study (ONS) is a project that focuses on researching all occurrences of an individual surname. The objective of a one-name study is not just the collection of data and names; The ultimate aim of an ONS is to research the genealogy and family history of all persons with a given surname. As a part of an ONS, researchers attempt to identify and understand items including, but not limited to:

• Name origins (or earliest references);
• Name meanings (are they matronymic, occupational, patronymic, topynomic, etc.);
• The relative frequency or occurence of the name;
• Patterns in migration; and
• Name variations and specific name branches.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Project:One_Name_Studies

Answer 2

A name study can often be very helpful in solving brick walls through the grouping of families and using the process of elimination. It can also help us understand family dynamics and how our ancestors lived.

For instance, I've been studying family in Reading, PA. There were a number of people there with my brick wall ancestor, but they were all business owners or craftsmen and mine was a day laborer. I haven't been able to determine the relationship, but probably not siblings. But putting them all together, I've looked at their addresses and found some lived in the "nice" part of town and some not so much.