 <p>Whatever you trying to achieve, it seems you are over complicating things. However if you need to display <code>Surname</code> you need to set it in the <code>DisplayMemberPath</code> as <code>DisplayMemberPath="Surname"</code>. Here's a tutorial on Custom Controls: <a href="http://www.wpftutorial.net/howtocreateacustomcontrol.html" rel="nofollow">How to Create Custom Control</a>.</p> <p>Below is a link for creating re-useable User control: <a href="http://blog.scottlogic.com/2012/02/06/a-simple-pattern-for-creating-re-useable-usercontrols-in-wpf-silverlight.html" rel="nofollow">Creating Re-useable User Controls</a>.</p>