What surnames appear in your family? Is the surname already being studied? Why not see if yours has been registered with the Guild of One-Name Studies?
If you put in my HUNTER surname you will see that I am studying and researching the origins, type of Surname, frequency of my Surname, and there are many variant spellings.
The Hunter DNA Project on familytreedna.com list many variants for their study: HUNTER, HUNTTER, HUNTERS, HONTERS, HUNDTERS, CASADOR, CAZADOR, CHASSEUR, HUNT, and JAGER
Key Resources
Guild of One-Name Studies – http://www.one-name.org
Find A Grave – http://www.findagrave.com (search your surname)
FamilySearch – http://www.familysearch.org where there is a wiki covering surnames research and location research
Archer Software – Surname Atlas using the 1881 Census data for England and Wales – http://www.archersolftware.co.uk
Ancestry – http://www.ancestry.com where there is a wiki, US research guides & records globally
FindmyPast – http://www.findmypast.com records and indexes from many parts of the world
British Surnames – http://www.britishsurnames.co.uk where the focus is on meaning, origin and history of surnames.
Surname Origins – http://www.surnamesorigins.ca about the meaning & origin of Surnames
Forebears – http://www.forebears.io an ideal site for surname distribution
FreeBMD – http://www.freebmd.org.uk
BehindtheName – http://surnames.behindthename.com/
Blogger/Teacher/Writer Julie Goucher – http://www.anglersrest.net