How are surnames formed?

Answer 1

Surnames, or "last names," are fairly recent. Most people had one name, to which might be added some descriptive term, e.g. Thomas the lame, or Joan of Arc. Modern surnames come mostly from an ancestor's occupation ( e.g. Sawyer, Farmer); from trades and guilds (e.g. Plummer, Draper); from geographical origin (e.g. French, Hammond); from kinship (e.g. Johnson, Bennett) from titles (e.g. Butler, Masters) or from personal attributes (e.g. Russel, Longfellow).

Surnames, permanent family names, developed at different times in different places. They were used in ancient Rome and in ancient China. They were used only by very prominent families (and not by all prominent families) in medieval Europe. Spanish Jews used surnames in the 1400s, but other European Jews began using surnames only when forced to by local governments in the mid-19th century. In Iceland and parts of Indonesia, surnames are still not used.

Answer 2

Surnames were often bestowed upon persons displaying certain characteristics such as red hair (Reed family) or tall stature (Long family). They may have gotten their surname because they lived near a certain geographical feature such as a prominent rock (Hill, or Stone family) or a body of water (Lake, Pond, and Rivers families). Sometimes, people were even given surnames that derived from nicknames that stuck (Sharp, Quick, and Rich families).

Answer 3

Some began as nicknames, based upon the personal observations of those around them: the surnames of Brown, Brun, Red, Reed, White, and Wight are all believed to have been based upon the hair color, skin complexion, or even favorite colors of clothing worn by the bearer.

Other surnames were based upon the bearer's occupation: Archer, Carpenter, Farmer, Miller, Smith, and Wagner are all occupationally-derived surnames.

Others arose as way of denoting the area near which a person or his family lived: Hill, Rivers, and Woods are all local, or habitationally-based, surnames.

Answer 4

Many surnames were nicknames, such as "Pliny the Elder" and "Pliny the Younger". Others were based upon a physical feature close to where the person or family lived, such as the surnames Pond, Pool, Rivers, Groves, Hill, and Dale.

Answer 5

There are surnames that are utilized in the New Testament.

Answer 6

Your surname is descended from your parentage.

Answer 7

Your surname comes from your parentage.