How did surnames come about?
413127
A family name, or surname, is the part of a person's name that indicates to what family he or she belongs. The use of family names is not universal throughout history. In many parts of the world, they did not appear in common use until the 17th to 19th centuries, and in some cultures they are not used today. In many cultures of Asia, the family name is typically spoken or written first when referring to an individual, while in most Western cultures, the family name is last, giving rise to the term last name for family name.\n\nThe word surname is "name" prefixed by the French word sur (meaning "on"), which derives from Latin super ("over"). In the past it was sometimes spelled sirname or sirename (suggesting that it meant "man's name" or "father's name") due to fake etymology.\n\nIn English-, Dutch-, German- and French-speaking countries, people often have two or more given names (first and middle), and the family name goes at the end. (Occasionally a surname is called the "second name", which can be confused with the middle name.) In Spanish, people have one or more given names and two family names, one from the father and one from the mother. In Italy, people may have one or more given names, no middle name, and a family name.\n\nThe use of family names varies among cultures. In particular, Icelanders, Tibetans, Burmese, and Javanese often do not use a family name — well-known people lacking a family name include U Thant (Burmese), Suharto and Sukarno (see Indonesian names). Also, many royal families do not use family names. In many cultures, few non-aristocratic families had surnames prior to the 15th century.\n\nA woman's family name traditionally changes upon marriage in some cultures, although few countries mandate such a change. Other modern options include combining both family names, changing neither name, or creating a new name, e.g. combining letters of previous surnames or creating a pseudonym unrelated to the previous surnames.\n\nIn the 19th century, Francis Galton published a statistical study of the extinction of family names. (See Galton-Watson process for an account of some of the mathematics.)
718003
Your question made me curious enough to do a little searching.  Turns out nobody is sure of where the term "Yankee" actually originated.  During the American Revolution, the Brits called us Yankees as a cut-down, and being the Americans they were, after they kicked the Brits butts, they adopted the term for themselves.  Perverse bunch, aren't we?  Best guess has to do with the Dutch being called Yankees well before our little party in 1776.
24109
The origin of the term is disputed. One theory customarily held by persons not from New England claims that it originated from the Dutch in old New Amsterdam (today known as New York City) in the Mid-Atlantic States. It then was adopted by the British as a pejorative for (Northern) colonists. The origin might have been the phrase Jan Kees ("John Cornelius") (two very common Dutch names), which the English-speaking people picked up as "yankees", a word they used to refer to the Dutch.
652864
"Hick" is widely agreed to be derived from a nickname for Richard --Middle English Hikke\nhttp://www.thefreedictionary.com/dict.asp?Word=hick\nhttp://www.webster.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?sourceid=Mozilla-search&va=hick\n\nSimilarly, the Oxford English Dictionary says it was "by-form" of the personal name Richard (like Dick) and Hob (like Bob) for Robert.\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hick\n\n"Hick" was actually just one of many examples of a trend of creating rhyming nicknames (arbitrarily changing the first letter).   Hick and Dick (appearing in wriring around 1220) were  at the beginning of a great 13th-14th century trend That's where we get all these surprising forms like Polly from Molly, Bob from Rob (from Robert), Bill from Will (from William); and Hodge from Roger.\nIncidentally, a variant on this is also preserved in the nursery rhyme "HICKORY, dickory, dock"!\nhttp://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mdick.html\n\nFor other forms of "letter swapping" to create nicknames, and a variety of other methods by which English nicknames developed see:\nhttp://www.geocities.com/edgarbook/names/other/nicknames.html\n\nThe derogatory use of "hick" apparently goes back to the beginning, or very near it.   In fact, it may have been specifically coined to mock countryfolk.\n\n"At the time "hick" arose as a derogatory term for a country bumpkin in England around 1565, "Richard" was considered (unfairly, of course) a typical "country" name, much in the way "Paddy" (short for "Patrick," after the patron saint of Ireland) came to signify "Irishman." '\nhttp://www.word-detective.com/061300.html
520741
Hi there,\n\nThe name originated from Spain and Cuba.  Here are a couple of websites with more info:\n\nhttp://www.surnameweb.org/scripts/data/database.cgi?file=swlink&report=norigin&surname=Galarza\n\nhttp://www.ancestry.com/learn/facts/Fact.aspx?fid=5&ln=Galarza&o_xid=9879&o_lid=9879&o_xt=21840&offerid=0%3a7896%3a0
996018
The last name Wright can be traced (in part) to the name Wheelwright.  \n\nIn the 16th and 17th centuries (and even prior) a person's last name came from their profession.  A Wheelwright made wheels for wagons and carts.  As time wore on, the name changed from "Charles the Wheelwright" to "Charles Wheelwright".  Later, as families grew and decendants were NOT wheelwrights, the names were changed to reflect new careers.  The names Wheeler and Wright divided off and became a last name, rather than a profession.
709966
There last names were given to them by the whites. Most are given ndn names from a elder in the family. Such as named after a family member or some significant thing  that was seen  or done at the time.
1140786
The short answer is that spelling conventions like -our (colour, flavour) and -re (centre, theatre) came from French, which was introduced into England in the Norman Conquest of 1066. After that, French became, in effect, the "official language" of England, and dramatically influenced (and enriched) the English language.\n\nHowever, spelling conventions in Britain and America were not codified until the 18th and 19th centuries. The British chose to keep the French influence, while the Americans, newly independent, chose to drop the "u", as a way of differentiating themselves from the former "mother country." Noah Webster, the dictionary author, had a lot to do with this, though he didn't invent it -- it was already taking place. He just chose to call it "correct."\n\nAs for why non-native English speakers in Europe and elsewhere use British spellings, it's because most countries consider British English the "correct" or "authentic" form of English. In fact, many foreign countries still teach students to speak English with an English accent, which often produces an odd effect.
195670
well the easiest way is to search on yahoo/google etc. (i did)\n\nelse check out these links:\n\nhttp://genealogy.about.com/library/surnames/bl_meaning.htm\n\nhttp://www.last-names.net/\n\nhttp://surnames.behindthename.com/\n\nhttp://www.surnameguide.com/surnames.html\n\nand there are many more ...
494571
If you want to know how Indians assign surnames there is no one answer. \n\n1. It is generally a caste name like Iyer - Tamil brahmin, Rao- Kannada / Telugu brahmin; Sharma - Typically norht Indian brahmin, Chettiar - a trader commuity from Tamilnadu, Nair - a warrior / farming caste of Kerala, Yadav - Yadav caste\n\n2. Passed down from generations: like Chaturvedi - some anscestor of the person mastered all the four vedas, but the surname is passed down\n\n3. Some trace their surnames to their Gothras or ancient sages who were their forefathers. Eg., Bharadwaj - bloodline of Sage Bharadwaj etc.\n\n4. Yet some other trace to their place of origin of theri forefathers or thier villages: Mangeshkar - a native of Mangesh village\n\n5. A more recent trend in South India is to do away with their traditional surnames and keep their father's / husband's name as surname or just as initials. This is in fact fuelled after the persecution of the forward castes like Iyers by the Dravidian political parties, that they want donot want to reveal their caste through surnames. this was followed by other communities also\nHence, if the name is Ramakrishnan Lakshmanan. Ramakrsihnan is the given name and LAkshmanan is the person's father's name.\n\nThe above is only a summary of the logic behind Indian surnames
860932
Chandler:  From an occupational surname which meant "candle seller" in Middle English, ultimately from Old French\n\nJacob:  In the Old Testament, Jacob was born holding his twin brother Esau's heel, and his name meaning "holder of the heel" or "supplanter". Other theories claim that it is derived from a hypothetical name like יַעֲקֹבְאֵל (Ya'aqov'el) meaning "may God protect". \n\nAlec:  Form of Alexander: "defending men"  "to defend, help" & "man"
566980
Definition: Said to derive from "fraises," the French word for strawberry because the Fraser arms display three silver strawberry flowers on a field of blue. \n\nSurname Origin: Norman, Scottish \n\nAlternate Surname Spellings: FRAZER, FRAZIER, FRASIER\n\n\nlinks that have info on there genealogy\n\nhttp://www.ellisisland.org/search/matchMore.asp?LNM=FRAZIER&PLNM=FRAZIER&first_kind=1&kind=exact&offset=0&dwpdone=1\n\nhttp://genforum.genealogy.com/frazier/
349488
It's basically because this is still a man's world !\n...Fathers used to take pride in having their names 'live' on - by naming the eldest son, and heir apparent to their family surname, as their 'jr.'.\n...Mothers very seldom had any say in naming their daughters - and few fathers cared to christen a daughter with their wife's name, which might have brought about a trend of female 'juniors' as well.\n...But even then, when a girl gets married, tradition demands that her surname be changed to that of her husband : \nUnder these circumstances, a girl can be called her mother's junior only until marriage - because, once she gets married, the 'junior' suffix will have no significance, or meaning with reference to her husband's family surname !
912384
"The French surname is the French Canadian form of the surname Girou or Giroul, an ancient baptismal name of Germanic origin. It is derived from a nickname, usually illustrating a personal attribute or physical characteristic of the bearer. In this case, the surname derives from a French word signifying either lance or wolf, indicating a military background or a tenacious and fierce disposition on the part of the progenitor. ...Variants of the surname include the feminine form Girouette, from the ancient Norman "wirewite" implying, curiously enough, a propensity for shocking behavior. Other variants are Giroud, Giroult, Girouard, Giroulet and Girousse." - this was taken from a website! :)
172517
There are several possible origins of the word, because of various linguistic influences in Colonial America. These vary from Dutch to Native American. The fact of the matter is, no one really knows.\n\nOf the various possibilities, I think the dutch origin makes the most sense. The Dutch name Jan Kees, pronounced "yan kees", was common at the time, and may have been used by non-Dutch to refer to a Dutch colonist, much in same way that a person may refer to a german person as Adolf, when they do not know their name, or a Russian Boris.\n\nThe fact of the matter is that no one really knows.
1037280
Many people's names include one or more middle names, placed between the first given name and the surname. In the West, a middle name is effectively a second given name and is frequently abbreviated by its possessor to its initial letter.\n\nDespite their relatively long existence in the Western world, the phrase "middle name" was not recorded until 1835 in "Harvardiana" a periodical of the time. Since 1905, "middle name" gained a figurative connotation meaning a notable or outstanding attribute of a person. This figurative use is especially popular in films (see "Quotes" in External links).\n\nThe use of multiple middle names has been somewhat impeded recently by the increased use of computer databases that allow for only a single middle name or more commonly a middle initial in storing personal records, effectively depriving persons with multiple middle names of the ability to be listed in such databases under their full name. Especially in the case of government records and other databases that are used for legal purposes, this phenomenon has sometimes been criticized as a form of discrimination against people who carry multiple middle names for cultural or religious reasons.\n\nIn United States, the middle name is rarely used on official documents. The middle initial is used instead on most identity documents, passports, driver licenses, social security cards, and university diplomas. Examples of this form include George W. Bush and John F. Kennedy.
970795
This name probably comes from the name Griselda, which is derived from the Germanic elements gris "grey" and hild "battle".\n\nSee the link below for more info.\n\nWK