Full list of 100 surnames that could determine whether you are related to the Royal Family

Many have wondered if they might have some links to the British Royal Family at one time or another - as ridiculous as it sounds.

With ancestry tests and having the technology to trace your lineage back centuries, anyone could have a distant link to the throne if they're lucky.

Many Americans believe they have descended from royalty, but for millions of Brits, that may prove to be true.

Sadly though, being a distant descendant of a 12th-century monarch won't secure you a seat at the next Royal function.

Numerous families have links to royalty, and one of the easiest ways you can explore this is through a number of ancestry websites, such as Documenting Royal Ancestry on FamilySearch.

As exciting as it may sound, having connections to royalty is more common than you'd think.

Many people have distant links to the British Royal Family. Credit: Samir Hussein / Getty Images

American surnames linked to the British Royal Family

One of the first places you should look is at your early American ancestors, as many of these families had connections to people with power, back in the day.

One of the first literary works documenting this was Americans of Royal Descent by Charles H. Browning, which was published in 1891, and includes hundreds of surnames and documents the royal family trees in depth.

If your name isn't there, you can use Hathitrust, where you will find several other family names with royal ancestors.

While some names have been rumored to link to royalty in the past, Family History Daily has listed 100 surnames which could highlight a link to the British throne:

1. Abel
2. Alden
3. Appleton
4. Ayer
5. Barber
6. Barclay
7. Beverly
8. Binney
9. Brooke
10. Brown
11. Campbell
12. Carroll
13. Chauncey
14. Coleman
15. Cooper
16. Davis
17. Dickinson
18. Darling
19. Douglas
20. Dunbar
21. Edwards
22. Ellery
23. Ellis
24. Emmett
25. Evans
26. Farley
27. Fleming
28. Forest
29. French
30. Gardiner
31. George
32. Gerard
33. Gerry
34. Gibson
35. Graham
36. Hamilton
37. Haynes
38. Herbert
39. Hill
40. Howard

A distant link to the family won't mean you'll be meeting King Charles and Queen Camilla anytime soon. Credit: Samir Hussein / Getty

1. Hume
2. Irving
3. Jackson
4. James
5. Jenkins
6. Johnson
7. Kane
8. Kennedy
9. Ker
10. Key
11. King
12. Langdon
13. Lawrence
14. Lee
15. Leonard
16. Livingston
17. Lloyd
18. McCall
19. McDonald
20. Malcalester
21. Montgomery
22. Morris
23. Morton
24. Nelson
25. Nicholson
26. Nixon
27. Norris
28. O’Carroll
29. Ogle
30. Opie
31. Parsons
32. Patterson
33. Peabody
34. Pomeroy
35. Porter
36. Pratt
37. Preston
38. Quay
39. Randolph
40. Read
41. Reeve
42. Robinson
43. Rogers
44. Sanford
45. Shaw
46. Smith
47. Sowden
48. Stanley
49. Taylor
50. Townsend
51. Turner
52. Tyler
53. Valentine
54. Varson
55. Walker
56. Watts
57. White
58. Whiting
59. Williams
60. Young

It should be noted that having one of these surnames does not automatically mean you have royal ancestry; these names are linked to specific people.

Browning's book will reveal more about the people who match these surnames.

But equally, not finding your name here doesn't mean that you have no link to the Royal Family, and some further digging could reveal what you want to see.

This list is simply a sample of royal last names, so finding your family's name might pique your interest and push you to do further research.

On the other hand, maybe you're not fussed at all and having a 26-times removed cousin in the Royal Family won't change anything.

To each their own.

Featured image credit: WPA Pool / Getty