Does anyone know why there weren't last names mentioned in the Bible or is there?

Answer 1

Interesting question.
The word 'surname' in the Oxford English Dictionary.

noun
1) A name, title or epithet added to a person's name or names, esp. one indicating his or her birthplace or some characteristic or acheivement. arch. B A second or alternative name or title given to a person, place, building, etc.
2) The name which a person has in common with the other members of his or her family, as opposed to the Christian name or given name; a family name. B A nickname, an appelation; spec. = Cognomen

Verb
1) Give a specified name to; call (a person) by his or her surname or family name.
2) Give an additional name, title or epithet to (a person)
3) Call by an additinal name; attach another appelation to; gen. designate, entitle.

When we think of 'surname' we most commonly think of our family name (meaning 2 for the noun in the dictionary entry quoted above).

Was such a family name used in Bible times?

The Westminster Dictionary of the Bible (1944), page 418, states: “Surnames were lacking among the Hebrews; persons were designated by adding to the personal name the name of their city, as Jesus of Nazareth, Joseph of Arimathaea, Mary Magdalene, Nahum the Elkoshite; or by a statement of their descent, as Simon son of Jonah; by their disposition, trade, or other characteristic, as Simon Peter, Nathan the prophet, Joseph the carpenter, Matthew the publican, Simon the Zealot, and Dionysius the Areopagite.”

The Encyclopedia Americana, 1942 edition, says under “Names”: “Neither the Hebrews, Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians nor Greeks had surnames; and in the earliest period of their history the same may be said of the Romans.” (Vol. 19, p. 685)

One Bible translation I am familiar with uses the word 'surname' in several places in the NT. In each case the word is used in senses described in the dictionary above after noun 1 and verb 2 & 3

here are the passages:

Mark 3:16,17
And the [group of] twelve that he formed were Simon, to whom he also gave the surname Peter, 17 and James the [son] of Zeb′edee and John the brother of James (he also gave these the surname Boaner′ges, which means Sons of Thunder),
Acts 1:23
So they put up two, Joseph called Bar′sabbas, who was surnamed Justus
Acts 4:36
So Joseph, who was surnamed Bar′nabas by the apostles, which means, when translated, Son of Comfort, a Levite, a native of Cy′prus
Acts 10:5
So now send men to Jop′pa and summon a certain Simon who is surnamed Peter.
Acts 10:18
And they called out and inquired whether Simon who was surnamed Peter was being entertained there.
Acts 10:32
Send, therefore, to Jop′pa and call for Simon, who is surnamed Peter
Acts 11:13
“He reported to us how he saw the angel stand in his house and say, ‘Dispatch men to Jop′pa and send for Simon who is surnamed Peter,
Acts 12:12
And after he considered it, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John who was surnamed Mark
Acts 12:25
As for Bar′nabas and Saul, after having fully carried out the relief ministration in Jerusalem, they returned and took along with them John, the one surnamed Mark.

So there were no last names in the Bible as we have them today, but there were 'surnames' in the sense of 'additional names'.

Hope this is an interesting answer.

Answer 2

Some surnames were mentioned, but for the most part, surnames are a more modern concept. A person named John, was called John, and if further clarification was needed, he would be referred to as John, son of James, or, John, of Jerusalem, or John, the weaver.
Those forms continued, and persist to this day, but in a more formal system, whereby your name may relate to the occupation or city of an ancestor from centuries ago, rather than by your occupation.

If your name is Robert Carpenter, somewhere in your family tree was a carpenter and the name stuck.

Answer 3

People in Bible times did not really have last names like we do today. People frequently went by something similar to “Simon, son of Jonah” (Matthew 16:17). The phrase “son of Jonah” identified Simon as a different Simon than all the other Simons. This functioned very closely to a last name. Others used their occupation as a functional last name “Simon the tanner” (Acts 10:6). Jesus was sometimes called “Jesus of Nazareth” identifying where He was from (Matthew 26:71; John 18:5). The name “Jesus Christ” refers to “Jesus, who is the Christ / Messiah.”

Recommended Resource: Bible Answers for Almost all Your Questions by Elmer Towns.

Answer 4

Surnames are primarily a Northern European custom for familial differentiation. Middle Eastern societies also use it, and did so in Biblical times as well. In the time of the New Testament, both Greeks and Romans used surnames, but not in polite conversation.

My understanding is that societies at that time were mostly patrilineal, so you were "So-and-so, son of So-and-so." If that became too confusing, you might identify yourself with a particular place, such as the village of your birth or where you grew up (for example: Joseph of Arimethea).

Surnames are really only a necessity in population centers where other methods are insufficient to differentiate between families and descendants.

Answer 5

The Bible says there are New Testament prophets. However the great Prophet who was like Moses is identified in Acts Chapter 3 as being the Lord Jesus Christ; who was a prophet and much more than a prophet. "In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven." Hebrews 1:1-3

Answer 6

Often the naming convention for choosing a sir name goes along with whom your father was. What you or your father did for a living or from where you or your family came. For instance, Jesus of Nazareth, Joseph the Carpenter, Joshua son of Nun. Mary Magdalene is Mary from Magdalah. Judas Iscariot is Judah of Iscaria or someplace like that.

Sir names really are a more modern thing. Jesus would have been called; Jesus, the son of Joseph, the son of David or in hebrew; Y'shua bin Yosef bin David.

I hope that helps.

Answer 7

Last names are a 'new' thing for everyone. Everyone just used 'son of whoever' or locations as a way of describing who people were. Some Romans supposedly used family names but no one else did. Surnames, as we know them today, weren't even used until after 1000 AD.

Answer 8

At that time in history people went by their name and where the came from. Maybe what line they're decended from too depending on the person. Last names weren't made up until later, and lastnames actually usually evolved from something akin to where someone was from or an occupation they held. My ancestors in Germany were farmers and my last name means "cattle land".


I'm pretty sure it means "cattle land", if not that exactly something very close to it.

Answer 9

The practice of using surnames is a relatively recent institution. In some parts of europe, the practice is less than 300 years old.

Surnames such as 'johnson' or 'peterson' or 'von braun' etc are just local versions of the biblical form of judah ben (or bar) jacob, for example. Later surnames indicated ones city of origin or profession....or some other local identifying item such as a river or a building.

Answer 10

They kind of did. They would be called like Joe, son of Sam.

That's where last names came from in some areas- Samson.
Some names ended up coming from occupations, but it many areas it worked like it did Biblically.