2007-04-15 18:50:51 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
Population growth. Long ago you were John. when population grew more, and the were more John's. You were John from Harrisville, Then you were John, Son Of Thomas, Then you were John The Blacksmith. After that you were John Smith. As the population grew you needed a different way to differ yourself from everyone else.
2007-04-15 18:59:25 · answer #1 · answered by Winnipeg76 3 · 10⤊ 0⤋
A lot of last names came from the person's occupation. If some one was a baker their last name would be Baker, If they were a carpenter then Carpenter or a blacksmith = Smith. I am sure their are other reasons. I think this is the primary reason. I imagine it would be the same in other cultures. Slaves took the last name of the family's they were slaves. Some people got there names from the area where they lived.
2007-04-15 19:00:16 · answer #2 · answered by READER 1 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I can't tell you about all of them, but in England the tax collectors started insisting that serfs adopt last names for record-keeping purposes. Before that they just had given names and there were a lot of Johns running around.
2007-04-15 19:03:47 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Some names came from the father Ie John (son of Frank) All forms of Mac mean son of so it would be John Mac Frank. O' means the same thing Bill (son of Reilly) Bill Reilly
Others came from your trade. Farmer,Baker etc. or the area your lived in Forest,Rivers and so on
2007-04-15 18:58:25 · answer #4 · answered by timex846 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Immigrants in the passenger lists came from England, Scotland and Ireland. If you want to know where your Almond ancestors came from, you can post names here and someone will come along to help. Almond Name Meaning and History from the Middle English personal name Almund, from Old English Æ{dh}elmund, ‘noble protection’. variant of Allman ‘German’, assimilated by folk etymology to the vocabulary word denoting the tree.
2016-04-01 03:47:18 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have no idea... Maybe there were too many Bobs or Jims that they had to give each one a different name ant the end of the first name.
2007-04-15 18:54:56 · answer #6 · answered by n00b sAUsAg3 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
they originated by explaining what men did as a vocation...John Smith was a smithy Tom Farmer was a farmer and John Hancock....er, um.....
2007-04-15 18:53:38 · answer #7 · answered by Nehru 3 · 3⤊ 2⤋
from the skill or trade your relatives did. for example...smith...a blacksmith. Mason...a brickmason
2007-04-15 18:54:29 · answer #8 · answered by BEACHRESCUE 4 · 4⤊ 0⤋