Where do people get their last names from?

Question

when did they start having last names

Answer 1

last names where associated with what you do, fro instance smith came from being a blacksmith. My last name means arrowmaker :)

Answer 2

Some names came from associating with one's father, such as Johnson would be John's son, or in other languages, the Mac in many Scots and Irish names is also an association with family heritage, MacLeod would be from the house of Leod. In the same line, I believe that "Fitz" is a prefix recognizing a patrilineal acknowledgment of a birth outside of wedlock, so a Fitzgerald would go back to an acknowledged son of a Gerald somewhere back there. Other names relate to what trade a family was involved in, your Smiths, Coopers, Messerchmidts (Knife smith), wheelers, etc. Other family names were connected to where a particular ancestor was born or lived, your Londons, Berlins, Welshes, and such. Similar to these are Noble families responsible for a certain are, Von Ribbentrops, O'Bannions, etc. That about covers the main sources of European surnames, I think. Anyone can feel free to add on to that.

Answer 3

Many started during the Middle Ages time period where people were referred to by 2 names - their first name and another name (either where they're from or the job the did. For example: John Farmer, Tom Miller, Robin of Locksley (had to put this one in )

Answer 4

For the Chinese, Japanese, and Korean people, last names are family names and they could be traced back for thousands of years. For the Thai people, last names are also family names, but the history is rather short: no more than 200 years. For the Myanmar people , the Palauan people (in the Pacific) and the Russians, I heard that their fathers' names are the last names.

Answer 5

No-one seems to have mentioned the Northern European tradition of surnames, which is purely descriptive - i.e. Scarlet Johansson - Johan's Son (as a girl she would originally have been Johansdottir - Johan's daughter) and surnames changed with every generation, i.e. Scarlett's children would be Scarlettson or Scarlettsdottir.

This is the tradition behind almost all 'son' names, Johnson, Stevenson etc etc.

Answer 6

For Japanese, they didn't have a surname until they started their modernization campaign last century.

Because at that time most of the peasants were illiterate, the simple way to adopt a surname is to consider where they live by, so it's common to see "wood village", "water fountain", "plain", "enourmous mountain" as their surname.

Answer 7

Many things, here are some examples,

1. Peoples professions
2. Regions people belong to
3. Clans or groups people belong to
4. Names from lordships or masters

All kinds of ways!

Answer 8

The last names often refer to a person's occupation. Coopers made barrels, Fletchers made arrows, Millers moved to Milwaukee and made beer.

Answer 9

Usually from what their great ancestors did for a living.

Smith=Blacksmith
Carpenter=carpenter
Bishop=Priest

African Americans named themselves after the presidents after they got their freedom, which is why a lot of them have names like Jefferson or Washington.

Answer 10

Occupations (mentioned), father's name (his name is Anders, your name is James, son of Anders & eventually Anderson), also place names. My maiden name is Irish & is thought to have originated from the name of the place where my ancestors originated ... as in, "James of ThisPlace becomes James ThisPlace", etc.