When did the use of surnames become widely used? In what area of the world were they first used? Did the practice begin in one area and spread?
I am aware that different cultures have differing rules regarding how the name is situated with the given name, and the lineage of names. Any info would be helpful. Thank you
2006-09-12 14:00:52 · 5 answers · asked by finaldx 7 in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
I can only give you some perspective on European names.
Often, surnames evolved from such things as trades (Miller, Tanner, Baker), locations (Atwell, Hill, Wood), or personal attributes (Little, Strong, Whitehead). Another source was the name of one's father (Erikson, Johnson, Ambrose).
In the Roman Republic and Empire, many people (at least among the upper crust!) had three names: a given name, a name that designated one's clan or family, and sometimes a sort of nickname based on some characteristic. Gaius Julius Caesar, for example--Gaius (first name) Julius (of the family or clan Julii) Caesar ("curly"--he either had [or one of his forebears had] a nice head of hair, or was bald as a bowling ball--the way a stout person will sometimes be sarcastically nicknamed "slim").
Hope this is some little help!
2006-09-12 14:26:35 · answer #1 · answered by Chrispy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think this varied quite a lot from place to place around the world, but in Europe there were a lot of people using "family" last names by the 1500s. A lot of people used the place where they came from as their last name, and others used the name of their craft or business.
Some of my ancestors were British and they had the same last name at least before 1600 at the leatest. In England the King ordered that all neighborhoods (parishes) record births and deaths starting about 1540. So nearly all the people recorded in those English records had first and last names not later than that time.
2006-09-12 14:20:19 · answer #2 · answered by matt 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am not sure, but when the British were being so down on the Irish, a lot of Irish men took French names when they could and others took names that imitated their professions such as Smith, Cooper, Wheelwright, etc. Hope that helps some.
2006-09-12 14:04:19 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
i are not getting why this is even a question. it rather is precisely the style you stated it... First call = Andrea middle call = Rose First final call = Garcia 2nd final call = Cunhe Andrea Rose Garcia Cunhe
2016-11-07 05:09:49 · answer #4 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Okay , so first you fart and then you climb a big tree , play video games , you seem to be frustrated so go ahead fart and be happy!
2006-09-12 14:06:18 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋