Where did the origin of people's last names originate, and do all societies have them?

Answer 1

from what they did or who they were ♥

Answer 2

In the middle age for westerners...
All over the world, I think for a long time, people has been name as son of... like the Mac, Mc, O' or the suffix son, sen, or dottir (Island)...
In Russia, ovitch or ekaya... a bit the same in Crete.
Beside being the son, daughter of... you were, or going by something special about you, crooked nose... or your job: smith or the place you were from, or you have visit...
I think there are books and books over that topic.
I research the name Conor, Flynn and so on for a book and you will see as me full sites on the subject...

Answer 3

No, not all societies have last names. Until the 20th century, for example, many people in Mongolia only had one name. And I believe Iceland may also be that way.

Different "last name" practices work differently in different cultures. For example, in Scandanavia, many last names are things like "Hanson" because it originally came from a word meaning "son of Hans". That is, people used their given name and their father's name for a while, and that name eventually became a "last name".

In Mexico just about everyone uses two last names: their father's name and their mother's name. So if my name were Rosa, and my father was Juan Gutierrez and my mother was Angeles Rodriguez, I would be Rosa Gutierrez Rodriguez. In everyday use, people generally only refer to the paternal last name, but people use both on official documents. As an American living in Mexico, it was considered strange that I only used one last name. And when a woman gets married in Mexico, she often adds her husband's last name after her other names with the prefix "de". So if Rosa Gutierrez Rodriguez got married to a man whose paternal last name was Huerta, she would be Rosa Gutierrez Rodriguez de Huerta.

These are merely examples of how naming is done in different cultures. And you might be interested to know that in many cultures, such as in China, Korea and Japan, the first name that people give you is their family name, followed by a given name/names. So if a Korean person's name is Choi JungWhan, Choi is the family name and JungWhan is the given name.

And, if you think about it, there is quite a bit of variety among American last-naming practices as well. When an unmarried woman has a child, for example, sometimes the child is given the father's last name, and sometimes the mother's. And some parents decide to hyphenate their names, so that the child is named after both parents, in a way similar to what's done in Mexico. I have learned that some married couples change both of their last names to a new name when they get married. That is, if Doug Jones and Angela Smith get married, they might become Doug and Angela Thomas. And their child would have the "Thomas" name. It's been the custom for a long time in American culture for a woman to change her last name to her husband's last name instead of her father's last name when she gets married, which is kind of interesting when you think about it. And many women are hyphenating their father's last name with their husband's last name now, or not changing at all.

I suppose, at least in American culture, and probably in many other cultures, the idea of last name identifies a person as a part of a family. And in the case of women, switching from a father's last name to a husband's last name indicates that the father has given responsibility of the "ownership"/responsibility of the woman to the husband. My Korean friend who came over to the U.S. thought it was really strange that the customs officials who checked her passport asked her why she hadn't changed her name even though she was now married.

Answer 4

I don't really know my real name. North American decedents from Africa have their slave masters name.

Answer 5

Really good question
Its got me wondering.....