How do surnames originate?

Question

Who decides to create one? When this thing started? Are we allowed to create one today?

Answer 1

Lat names started at different times in different parts of the world. Surnames, for the most part, drew their meanings from the lives of men in the Middle Ages, and their origins can be divided into four main categories:


OCCUPATIONS
Many names as you probably already know like Baker, Farmer, Miller, and Carpenter are names that reflect the persons trade.

PLACES
Other names especially names in the Netherlands are reflective of places. The prefix "van" means from and "van der" means "from the" like van Heukelem, van Appeldorn, van Dijk, etc. Other examples of place names are Westwood, Parris, Springfield, and Holland.

PATRONYMIC
English and Scandinavian names ending in "son" are patronymic surnames, as are many names prefixed with the Gaelic "Mac," the Norman "Fitz," the Irish "O," and the Welsh "ap."
Examples Erickson, Williamson, and Ellison, O'Neil, O'Brien, Hendriks, Williams, McDonald etc

DESCRIPTIVE
These are derived from a physical or other characteristic of first bearer. They make up an estimated 10% of all surname or family names. These descriptive surnames are thought to have originally evolved as nicknames during the Middle Ages when men created nicknames or pet names for his neighbors and friends based on personality or physical appearance. Examples Strong, Goodman, etc

Without knowing what your last name is, it is hard to tell what your name means. But keep in mind that there are names that don't fit any of these catagories. It is fairly common for different branches of the same family to carry different last names, as the majority of English and American surnames have, in their history, appeared in four to more than a dozen variant spellings. Some people changed their surnames to something totally different. People are still creating new surnames. Some couples combine their surname to come up with a new one. My friend did that so the answer to your question is yes, you can still create new ones.

Wikipedia has a really great article on the typical origins of surnames from all different parts of the world. If there is a particular place in the world that you would like to know about this is a great resource

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_name

I hope this helps.

Answer 2

I believe many Western surnames originated to identify either family, place of origin or a person's trade.

The latter could be Smith, Butler, Mason. Places could be Heatherfield, Woods etc.

Scandinavian name often shows family ties. Before, in Denmark, Norway (-sen ending) and Sweden (-son ending), the last names were used to identify the father. Petersen, would be the son of Peter. The names no longer change with each generation, but a Nielsen or a Madsen should somewhere along the lines have had an acestor called Niels or Mads.

I don't know if you're allowed to create your own surname, I suspect it will depend on the laws of the country you are a citizen of.

Answer 3

Hey Erzahl,

You can make any surname you want, as long as there is a record, and you change your name legally to it. This provides a record of who you are and related to whom. That ties you to your birth name.

Surnames started in a variety of ways. The Wikipedia explanation you can read a the web site, but basically:

Where some one was from: i.e. Leonardo Di Vinci was from Vinci (Venice Italy).

Washburn - comes from the Wasseborn river in England. At least on one branch of Washburns.

Your TRADE, like Blacksmith - Surname Smith.

"A family name, surname, or last name is the part of a person's name that indicates to what family he or she belongs. Until the 12th century, most people throughout the world did not use or have a family name, and they were called by the single name they had (which was called a "first" or "given name" only after family names came into use). One of the most accepted theories for the origin of surname use attributes their introduction to the Normans and the Domesday Book of 1086. The use of surnames gradually became an accepted practice throughout Western Europe in the Middle Ages. In parts of the world, family names did not appear in common use until the 17th to 19th centuries, and they are unused in some cultures even today."

Answer 4

Well when somebody is born @ss backwards they usually tend to want to make their own thang. Like in this case the first man who invented a surname was called Tophus and he had no better name. He was made fun of in school by being called (TOFFUS) or (TOFU) and he didnt like that. When he was 25, an old british chap he ddecided to give himself a surname in this case it was Johnny ROcket which actually created a middle name too . SO this started the last name revolution. from weird last names like yakoto to Okomo which we now say today. Have fun kiddo.

Answer 5

Many German Surnames are places.
Scott/Irish are clans
English Surnames are occupations. i.e., Smith, Cooper
Some English are names are sons of i.e., John's son = Johnson, Michael's son = Michaelson

As for what to call yourself you can do that by changing you name legally to whatever you want.

Answer 6

It probably started when we got too many people.
In Scotland, "Mac" means "son of".
Johnson was literally John's son.
In Japan, as far as the peasants went, was not to get names but were identified by what they did - like fisherman, or porter, or daughter of porter, or second daughter of porter from Mishima (a town). Only the samurai had names in the old days.

Answer 7

Wand call which potential and background English: possibly a nickname for a shy or short-sighted individual, from old English wand ‘mole’. study want. German: occupational call for a weaver or textile cutter, from a discounted style of center intense German gewant ‘textile’, ‘garment’. study Wander 2. German: topographic call from center intense German want ‘wall’, ‘steep rock’, ‘precipice’. Dutch: metonymic occupational call for a glove maker, from center Dutch wante ‘glove’. Immigrants in the passenger lists got here from England, Germany, eire, Hungary, Austria and Sweden.

Answer 8

Your family in the past created it, it started hundreds of years ago, and if you want to change your own name you can