Where do last names come from?

Answer 1

I get mine from my daddy
As a feminist..it kinda makes me wish i was mexican..they get last names from both the mommy and the daddy

Answer 2

For a thousand years Europeans made do with only one last name, but as people tend to do, they multiplied. By the early Middle Ages record keeping was getting tricky. Suppose there were six Johns in the village; how was the tax collector to make sure which one was delinquent? So by royal decree, over a number of years folks began to give themselves a surname, or last name as we call them.

Since names were originally self-inflicted wounds, this explains why most names have positive meanings. Thus it's rare to bump into Jeanine Grump or Jerome Wartnose. However, before we reach the erroneous conclusion that every surname has a single identifiable and inescapable meaning, we should know that surname sleuthing often involves multiple possibilities or a high degree of conjecture. For example, think of a name invented on the spot when Eastern European immigrants reached Ellis Island only to be confronted with unsympathetic immigration officials who rejected complicated spellings. As a result, let's say, Kosczinski might have been shortened on the spot to Kos.

Despite this, one can fairly safely generalize that European-based surnames were arrived at via four basic mechanisms. The first category was based on the name of the father; such names are called patronymics, i.e., father names. The process was simple. The father's name or nickname was compounded with son to create a surname. English surnames are rather obviously decoded as a result. Williamson, Johnson, Davidson are obvious examples. Cobb, derived from an ancient pet name for Jacob, is a less obvious example.

Answer 3

Last names, or surnames, are the part of a person's name that indicates to what family he or she belongs. The use of family names today is widespread in cultures around the world although each culture has its own rules as to how these names are applied and used.

The oldest use of family or surnames is unclear. Surnames have arisen in cultures with large, concentrated populations where single names for individuals become insufficient to uniquely identify them. In many cultures the practice of using additional descriptive terms in identifying individuals arose. These descriptors might indicate personal attributes (Long), location of origin (Finn), occupation (Smith), parentage (Swen's son, or Swenson), or clan affiliation (MacGarvey). Often these descriptors developed into fixed clan identifications which became family names in the sense that we know them today.

Answer 4

The oldest use of family or surnames is unclear. Surnames have arisen in cultures with large, concentrated populations where single names for individuals become insufficient to uniquely identify them. In many cultures the practice of using additional descriptive terms in identifying individuals arose. These descriptors might indicate personal attributes, location of origin, occupation, parentage, or clan affiliation. Often these descriptors developed into fixed clan identifications which became family names in the sense that we know them today.

In China, according to legend, family names originate with Emperor Fu Xi in 2852 BC.[1] His administration standardized the naming system in order to facilitate the census. In Japan family names were uncommon except in the aristocracy until the 19th century.

In Ancient Greece during some periods it became common to use place of origin as a part of their official identification.[2] At other times clan names and patronymic names ("son of") were also common. For example, Alexander the Great was known by the clan name Herakles (as a supposed descendant of Heracles) and the dynastic name Karanos/Caranus referring to the founder of the dynasty. In none of these cases, though, were these names considered formal parts of the person's name nor were they explicitly inherited in the manner which is common in many cultures today.

In the Roman Empire clan/family names became very standardized. At the beginning they were not strictly inherited in the way that family names are inherited in many cultures today. Eventually, though, family names began to be used in a manner similar to most modern European societies. With the gradual influence of Greek/Christian culture throughout the Empire the use of formal family names declined.[3]

By the time of the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, family names were uncommon in the Eastern Roman (i.e. Byzantine) Empire. In Western Europe where Germanic culture dominated the aristocracy, family names were almost non-existent. They would not significantly reappear again in Eastern Roman society until the 10th century, apparently influenced by the familial affilations of the Armenian military aristocracy.[3] The practice of using family names spread through the Eastern Roman Empire and gradually into Western Europe although it was not until the modern era that family names came to be explicitly inherited in the way that they are today. Note that in the case of the English, the most accepted theory of the origin of family names in England is their introduction to the Normans and the Domesday Book of 1086.

During the modern era many cultures around the world adopted the practice of using family names, especially during the imperialistic age of Europe and particularly from the 17th to 19th centuries. However, they are unused in some cultures even today.

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

Answer 5

Back in the colonial days, the person had gotten their last name by what job they do.. (blacksmith) Etc... Now, Who knows.

Answer 6

THE FIRST NAME IS THE SIR NAME THUS THE LAST FOR IDENITY PER GENERATIONS