Surname

surname, also called family name, or last name, name added to a “given” name, in many cases inherited and held in common by members of a family. Originally, many surnames identified a person by his connection with another person, usually his father (Johnson, MacDonald); others gave his residence (Orleans, York, Atwood [i.e., living at the woods]) or occupation (Weaver, Hooper, Taylor). A surname could also be descriptive of a person’s appearance (Little, Red) or his exploits (Armstrong).

Surnames appeared at vastly different times in different cultures: in 2852 bc, the mythical Chinese emperor Fu Xi (Fu Hsi) was said to have decreed the adoption of hereditary family names. In England it was a gradual process, beginning about 1000 ad—when it was stimulated by a paucity of first names—and lasting about six centuries. In some cultures the generalized use of surnames did not occur until the 20th century: in 1935 a Turkish law went into effect making surnames mandatory. Jews were late in adopting surnames and often were compelled to do so. Because they were frequently barred from adopting names used by Christians, some simply chose compounds that sounded good, e.g., Rosenthal (“rose valley”). Others were assigned names expressive of the dominant culture’s contempt (e.g., Eselskopf, “donkey’s head”).

Surname formation often reflects the history and biases of culture. In Spain, partisanship and family pride entered into the process: the first family names originated from the war cries of Christians during the Moorish invasion. Swedish surnames reflect the Swedes’ love of nature, incorporating words such as berg (“mountain”) and blom (“flower”). In Russia, after the Revolution, many families shed the surnames derived from degrading peasant nicknames (e.g., Krasnoshtanov, “red pants”) and adopted names such as Orlov (“eagle”).