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==History==
===Origin===
While the use of given names to identify individuals is attested in the oldest historical records, the advent of surnames is relatively recent.<ref name="Doll1992">{{Cite news |last=Doll |first=Cynthia Blevins |year=1992 |title=Harmonizing Filial and Parental Rights in Names: Progress, Pitfalls, and Constitutional Problems |volume=35 |page=227 |work=Howard Law Journal |publisher=Howard University School of Law |issn=0018-6813}} ''Note: content available by subscription only. The first page of content is available via [https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=info:LBmZUSt6tbgJ:scholar.google.com/&hl=en&lr=&output=viewport&shm=1&pg=1 Google Scholar]''.</ref> Many cultures have used and continue to use additional descriptive terms in identifying individuals. These terms may indicate personal attributes, location of origin, occupation, parentage, patronage, adoption, or clan affiliation.<ref
In China, according to legend, family names started with Emperor [[Fuxi|Fu Xi]] in 2000 BC.
▲While the use of given names to identify individuals is attested in the oldest historical records, the advent of surnames is relatively recent.<ref name="Doll1992">{{Cite news |last=Doll |first=Cynthia Blevins |year=1992 |title=Harmonizing Filial and Parental Rights in Names: Progress, Pitfalls, and Constitutional Problems |volume=35 |page=227 |work=Howard Law Journal |publisher=Howard University School of Law |issn=0018-6813}} ''Note: content available by subscription only. The first page of content is available via [https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=info:LBmZUSt6tbgJ:scholar.google.com/&hl=en&lr=&output=viewport&shm=1&pg=1 Google Scholar]''.</ref> Many cultures have used and continue to use additional descriptive terms in identifying individuals. These terms may indicate personal attributes, location of origin, occupation, parentage, patronage, adoption, or clan affiliation. These descriptors often developed into fixed clan identifications that in turn became family names as we know them today.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}
In the early [[Islamic]] period (640–900 AD) and the [[Arab world]], the use of [[patronymics]] is well attested. The famous scholar [[Rhazes]] ({{circa|865–925 AD}}) is referred to as "al-Razi" (lit. the one from Ray) due to his origins from the city of [[Ray, Iran|Ray]], Iran. In the [[Levant]], surnames were in use as early as the [[High Middle Ages]] and it was common for people to derive their surname from a distant ancestor, and historically the surname would be often preceded with 'ibn' or 'son of'. Arab family names often denote either one's [[tribe]], [[profession]], a famous ancestor, or the place of origin; but they were not universal. For example, [[Hunayn ibn Ishaq]] (fl. 850 AD) was known by the nisbah "al-'Ibadi", a federation of Arab Christian tribes that lived in [[Mesopotamia]] prior to the advent of [[Islam]].
▲In China, according to legend, family names started with Emperor [[Fuxi|Fu Xi]] in 2000 BC.<ref name="Seng2008">{{Cite book |last=Seng |first=Serena |url=http://genealogy.about.com/ |title=About Genealogy |date=15 September 2008 |publisher=The New York Times Company |editor-last=Powell |editor-first=Kimberly |chapter=The Origin of Chinese Surnames |chapter-url=http://genealogy.about.com/library/authors/ucboey2a.htm |access-date=13 May 2016 |archive-date=16 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160616052403/http://genealogy.about.com/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=January 2021}}<ref name="Danesi2007">{{Cite book |last=Danesi |first=Marcel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=as6_qARSebIC |title=The Quest for Meaning |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-8020-9514-5 |page=48 |access-date=21 September 2008}}</ref> His administration standardised the naming system to facilitate census-taking, and the use of census information. Originally, [[Chinese surname]]s were derived matrilineally,<ref name="naming">{{cite web |url-status=dead |website=Berkeley Linguistics |date=2004 |url=http://www.linguistics.berkeley.edu/~rosemary/55-2004-names.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519142616/http://www.linguistics.berkeley.edu/~rosemary/55-2004-names.pdf |archive-date=19 May 2011 |title=Naming practices |at=Chinese naming practices (Mak et al., 2003)}}</ref> although by the time of the [[Shang dynasty]] (1600 to 1046 BC) they had become patrilineal.<ref name="naming" /><ref name="Zhimin">{{Cite journal |last=Zhimin |first=An |year=1988 |title=Archaeological Research on Neolithic China |journal=Current Anthropology |volume=29 |issue=5 |pages=753–759 [755, 758] |doi=10.1086/203698 |jstor=2743616 |s2cid=144920735}}</ref> Chinese women do not change their names upon marriage. They can be referred to either by their full birth names or by their husband's surname plus the word for wife. In the past, women's given names were often not publicly known, and women were referred in official documents by their family name plus the character "Shi" and when married by their husband's surname, their birth surname, and the character "Shi".{{citation needed|date=March 2016}}
In Ancient Greece, as far back as the [[Archaic Greece|Archaic Period]] clan names and [[patronymic]]s ("son of") were also common, as in [[Aristides]] as
Over the course of the Roman Republic and the later Empire, naming conventions went through multiple changes. (''See [[Roman naming conventions]].'') The [[Nomen gentilicium|''nomen'']], the name of the [[gens]] (tribe) inherited patrilineally, is thought to have already been in use by 650 BC.<ref name="Salway">[[Benet Salway]], "What's in a Name? A Survey of Roman Onomastic Practice from c. 700 B.C. to A.D. 700", in ''[[Journal of Roman Studies]]'', vol. 84, pp. 124–145 (1994).</ref> The ''nomen'' was to identify group kinship, while the ''[[praenomen]]'' (forename; plural ''praenomina'') was used to distinguish individuals within the group. Female ''praenomina'' were less common, as women had reduced public influence, and were commonly known by the feminine form of the ''nomen'' alone.
▲In the early [[Islamic]] period (640–900 AD) and the [[Arab world]], the use of [[patronymics]] is well attested. The famous scholar [[Rhazes]] ({{circa|865–925 AD}}) is referred to as "al-Razi" (lit. the one from Ray) due to his origins from the city of [[Ray, Iran|Ray]], Iran. In the [[Levant]], surnames were in use as early as the [[High Middle Ages]] and it was common for people to derive their surname from a distant ancestor, and historically the surname would be often preceded with 'ibn' or 'son of'. Arab family names often denote either one's [[tribe]], [[profession]], a famous ancestor, or the place of origin; but they were not universal. For example, [[Hunayn ibn Ishaq]] (fl. 850 AD) was known by the nisbah "al-'Ibadi", a federation of Arab Christian tribes that lived in [[Mesopotamia]] prior to the advent of [[Islam]]. [[Hamdan Qarmat|Hamdan ibn al-Ash'ath]] (fl. 874 AD), the founder of [[Qarmatian]] [[Isma'ilism]], was surnamed "Qarmat", an [[Aramaic]] word which probably meant "red-eyed" or "short-legged".{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}
▲In Ancient Greece, as far back as the [[Archaic Greece|Archaic Period]] clan names and [[patronymic]]s ("son of") were also common, as in [[Aristides]] as
▲Over the course of the Roman Republic and the later Empire, naming conventions went through multiple changes. (''See [[Roman naming conventions]].'') The [[Nomen gentilicium|''nomen'']], the name of the [[gens]] (tribe) inherited patrilineally, is thought to have already been in use by 650 BC.<ref name="Salway">[[Benet Salway]], "What's in a Name? A Survey of Roman Onomastic Practice from c. 700 B.C. to A.D. 700", in ''[[Journal of Roman Studies]]'', vol. 84, pp. 124–145 (1994).</ref> The ''nomen'' was to identify group kinship, while the ''[[praenomen]]'' (forename; plural ''praenomina'') was used to distinguish individuals within the group. Female ''praenomina'' were less common, as women had reduced public influence, and were commonly known by the feminine form of the ''nomen'' alone. Some women were distinguished from relatives later on by the use of ''major''/''minor'', or by an ordinal number. Even for men, there were only a few commonly used ''praenomina'', with some falling out of use and very few new names gaining popularity. During the Republic, 99% of Roman citizens shared only 17 ''praenomina''.<ref name="Salway"/> Furthermore, eldest sons were frequently given the same ''praenomen'' as their father. This led to confusion between members of the same ''gens''. Therefore, from the 5th to the 2nd centuries BC the use of [[cognomen|''cognomina'']] arose, beginning in noble patrician families. These were originally personal names, frequently physical features. For example, the ''cognomen'' of Pūblius Ovidius '''Nāsō''' meant "nose". Before too long, ''cognomina'' were again inherited and ceased to be personal distinguishers. In the later centuries of the Empire, there was a proliferation of [[agnomen|''agnomina'']], a fourth name placed after the ''cognomen''.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}
===Medieval era and beyond===
Later with the gradual influence of Greek and [[Christian culture]] throughout the Empire, Christian religious names were sometimes put in front of traditional ''cognomina'', but eventually people reverted to single names.<ref name="Chavez2006">{{Cite web |last=Chavez |first=Berret |date=9 November 2006 |title=Personal Names of the Aristocracy in the Roman Empire During the Later Byzantine Era |url=http://heraldry.sca.org/laurel/names/byzantine/introduction.html |access-date=21 September 2008 |website=Official Web Page of the Laurel Sovereign of Arms for the Society for Creative Anachronism |publisher=Society for Creative Anachronism |archive-date=16 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080916180738/http://heraldry.sca.org/laurel/names/byzantine/introduction.html |url-status=live }}</ref> By the time of the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, family names were uncommon in the [[Eastern Roman 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 affiliations of the Armenian military aristocracy.<ref name="Chavez2006"/> The practice of using family names spread through the Eastern Roman Empire
Medieval Spain used a patronymic system. For example, Álvaro, a son of Rodrigo, would be named Álvaro Rodríguez. His son, Juan, would not be named Juan Rodríguez, but Juan Álvarez. Over time, many of these patronymics became family names, and they are some of the most common names in the Spanish-speaking world today. Other sources of surnames are personal appearance or habit, e.g. Delgado ("thin") and Moreno ("dark"); geographic location or ethnicity, e.g. Alemán ("German"); and occupations, e.g. Molinero ("miller"), Zapatero ("shoe-maker") and Guerrero ("warrior"), although occupational names are much more often found in a shortened form referring to the trade itself, e.g. Molina ("mill"), Guerra ("war"), or Zapata (archaic form of ''zapato'', "shoe").<ref>{{Cite web |title=What is the origin of the last name Molina? |url=https://www.last-names.net/lastname/molina/ |access-date=2023-08-01 |website=Last Name Meanings |language=en-US |archive-date=1 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230801151148/https://www.last-names.net/lastname/molina/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
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A four-year study led by the [[University of the West of England]], which concluded in 2016, analysed sources dating from the 11th to the 19th century to explain the origins of the surnames in the [[British Isles]].<ref name="Origin study">{{Cite news |date=17 November 2016 |title=Most common surnames in Britain and Ireland revealed |agency=BBC |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-38003201 |access-date=21 July 2018 |archive-date=2 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181102104217/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-38003201 |url-status=live }}</ref> The study found that over 90% of the 45,602 surnames in the dictionary are native to Britain and Ireland, with the most common in the UK being [[Smith (surname)|Smith]], [[Jones (surname)|Jones]], [[Williams (surname)|Williams]], [[Brown (surname)|Brown]], [[Taylor (surname)|Taylor]], [[Davies]], and [[Wilson (name)|Wilson]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Hanks |first1=Patrick |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199677764.001.0001/acref-9780199677764 |title=The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland |last2=Coates |first2=Richard |last3=McClure |first3=Peter |date=17 November 2016 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-967776-4 |language=en-US |doi=10.1093/acref/9780199677764.001.0001 |access-date=1 March 2020 |archive-date=26 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200526105824/https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199677764.001.0001/acref-9780199677764 |url-status=live }}</ref> The findings have been published in the ''Oxford English Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland'', with project leader Richard Coates calling the study "more detailed and accurate" than those before.<ref name="Origin study" /> He elaborated on the origins: "Some surnames have origins that are occupational – obvious examples are Smith and Baker. Other names can be [[Toponymic surname|linked to a place]], for example, Hill or Green, which relates to a [[village green]]. Surnames that are 'patronymic' are those which originally enshrined the father's name – such as [[Jackson (name)|Jackson]], or [[Jenkinson]]. There are also names where the origin describes the original bearer such as Brown, [[Short stature|Short]], or Thin – though Short may in fact be an ironic 'nickname' surname for a tall person."<ref name="Origin study"/>
In the modern era, governments have enacted laws to require people to adopt surnames. This served the purpose of uniquely identifying subjects for taxation purposes or for inheritance.{{sfn|Kennett|2012|p=20}} In the late [[Middle Ages]] in [[Europe]], there were several revolts against the mandate to have a surname.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Anderson |first1=Raymond A. |title=Credit Intelligence and Modelling: Many Paths Through the Forest of Credit Rating and Scoring |date=2022 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-284419-4 |page=193-194 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=04lNEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA193 |language=en}}</ref>
===Modern era===
During the modern era, many cultures around the world adopted family names, particularly for administrative reasons, especially during the age of European expansion and particularly since 1600.
In Breslau, Prussia enacted the Hoym Ordinance in 1790, mandating the adoption of Jewish surnames.{{cn|date=June 2024}}<ref name="o738">{{cite book | last=Ury | first=S. | title=Barricades and Banners: The Revolution of 1905 and the Transformation of Warsaw Jewry | publisher=Stanford University Press | series=Stanford Studies in Jewish History and Culture | year=2012 | isbn=978-0-8047-8104-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1_W-DuzHlAEC&pg=PA32 | access-date=2024-06-02 | page=32}}</ref> Napoleon also insisted on Jews adopting fixed names in a decree issued in 1808.<ref name="r467">{{cite journal | last=Scott | first=James C. | last2=Tehranian | first2=John | last3=Mathias | first3=Jeremy | title=The Production of Legal Identities Proper to States: The Case of the Permanent Family Surname | journal=Comparative Studies in Society and History | publisher=Cambridge University Press | volume=44 | issue=1 | year=2002 | issn=00104175 | jstor=3879399 | pages=4–44 | url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/3879399 | access-date=2024-06-02}}</ref>
Names can sometimes be changed to protect individual privacy (such as in [[witness protection]]), or in cases where groups of people are escaping persecution.<ref name="x631">{{cite book | last=Ahmed | first=S.R. | title=Preventing Identity Crime: Identity Theft and Identity Fraud: An Identity Crime Model and Legislative Analysis with Recommendations for Preventing Identity Crime | publisher=Brill | year=2020 | isbn=978-90-04-39597-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DPPcDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA39 | access-date=2024-06-02 | page=39}}</ref> After arriving in the [[United States]], European Jews who fled Nazi persecution sometimes [[anglicization|anglicized]] their surnames to avoid discrimination.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Holton |first1=G. |last2=Sonnert |first2=G. |title=What Happened to the Children Who Fled Nazi Persecution |date=25 December 2006 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-0-230-60179-6 |page=96 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xAeMDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA96 |language=en}}</ref> Governments can also forcibly change people's names, as when the [[National Socialist]] government of Germany assigned German names to European people in the territories they conquered.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lemkin |first1=Raphael |title=Axis Rule in Occupied Europe: Laws of Occupation, Analysis of Government, Proposals for Redress |date=2014 |publisher=The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. |isbn=978-1-58477-576-8 |page=82 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ChhmqYeVS80C&pg=PA82 |language=en}}</ref> In the [[1980s]], the [[People's Republic of Bulgaria]] forcibly changed the first and last names of its [[Turks in Bulgaria|Turkish citizens]] to Bulgarian names.<ref name="i395">{{cite book | last=Neuburger | first=M.C. | title=The Orient Within: Muslim Minorities and the Negotiation of Nationhood in Modern Bulgaria | publisher=Cornell University Press | year=2011 | isbn=978-1-5017-2023-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hf6tDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA77 | access-date=2024-06-02 | page=77}}</ref>
== Origins of particular surnames ==
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{{Category see also|Patronymic surnames|Matronymic surnames}}
These are the oldest and most common type of surname.<ref name="hanks" /> They may be a first name such as "Wilhelm", a [[patronymic]] such as "[[Andersen]]", a [[matronymic]] such as "[[Beaton (surname)|Beaton]]", or a clan name such as "[[O'Brien dynasty|O'Brien]]". Multiple surnames may be derived from a single given name: e.g. there are thought to be over 90 Italian surnames based on the given name "[[Giovanni (name)|Giovanni]]".<ref name="hanks">[[Patrick Hanks|Hanks, Patrick]] and Hodges, Flavia. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1989. {{ISBN|0-19-211592-8}}.</ref> [[File:Icelandic Patronyms.svg|thumb|250px|A family tree showing the Icelandic patronymic naming system]]
====Examples====
* '''Patronal''' from patronage (''Hickman'' meaning Hick's man, where Hick is a pet form of the name Richard) or strong ties of religion ''Kilpatrick'' (follower of [[Patrick (given name)|Patrick]]) or ''Kilbride'' (follower of Saint [[
* '''[[Patronymic]]s, [[matronymic]]s or ancestral''', often from a person's given name. e.g., from male name: ''[[Richardson (surname)|Richardson]]'', ''[[Stephenson]]'', ''[[Jones (surname)|Jones]]'' (Welsh for Johnson), ''[[Williams (surname)|Williams]]'', ''[[Jackson (name)|Jackson]]'', ''[[Wilson (surname)|Wilson]]'', ''[[Thompson (surname)|Thompson]]'', ''[[Benson (surname)|Benson]]'', ''[[Johnson]]'', ''[[Harris (surname)|Harris]]'', ''[[Evans (surname)|Evans]]'', ''[[Simpson (surname)|Simpson]]'', ''[[Willis (surname)|Willis]]'', ''[[Davies]]'', ''[[Reynolds (surname)|Reynolds]]'', ''[[Adams (surname)|Adams]]'', ''[[Dawson (surname)|Dawson]]'', ''[[Lewis (surname)|Lewis]]'', ''[[Rogers (surname)|Rogers]]'', ''[[Murphy]]'', ''[[Morrow (surname)|Morrow]]'', ''[[Nicholson (surname)|Nicholson]]'', ''[[Robinson (name)|Robinson]]'', ''[[Powell (surname)|Powell]]'', ''[[Ferguson (name)|Ferguson]]'', ''[[Davis (surname)|Davis]]'', ''[[Edwards (surname)|Edwards]]'', ''[[Hudson (surname)|Hudson]]'', ''[[Roberts (surname)|Roberts]]'', ''[[Harrison (name)|Harrison]]'', ''[[Watson (surname)|Watson]]'', or female names ''Molson'' (from Moll for Mary), ''[[Madison (name)|Madison]]'' (from Maud), ''Emmott'' (from Emma), ''Marriott'' (from Mary) or from a clan name (for those of Scottish origin, e.g., ''[[Macdonald (name)|MacDonald]]'', ''[[Clan Forbes|Forbes]]'', ''[[Henderson (surname)|Henderson]]'', ''[[Armstrong (surname)|Armstrong]]'', ''[[Grant (surname)|Grant]]'', ''[[Cameron (surname)|Cameron]]'', ''[[Stewart (name)|Stewart]]'', ''[[Douglas (surname)|Douglas]]'', ''[[Crawford (name)|Crawford]]'', ''[[Campbell (surname)|Campbell]]'', ''[[Hunter (name)|Hunter]]'') with "Mac" [[Goidelic languages|Gaelic]] for son.<ref>Katherine M. Spadaro, Katie Graham (2001) ''Colloquial Scottish Gaelic: the complete course for beginners'' p.16. Routledge, 2001</ref>
===Cognominal surnames===<!-- [[Cognominal surname]], [[Eke-name]], and [[Nickname surname]] redirects here -->
This is the broadest class of surnames, originating from nicknames,<ref name=bede>[[Bernard Deacon (linguist)|]], [https://bernarddeacon.com/cornish-surnames/classifying-surnames/ Classifying surnames]</ref> encompassing many types of origin. These include names based on appearance such as "Schwartzkopf", "Short", and possibly "Caesar",<ref name="hanks" /> and names based on temperament and personality such as "Daft", "Gutman", and "Maiden", which, according to a number of sources, was an English nickname meaning "effeminate".<ref name="hanks" /><ref name="cottle" />
A group of nicknames look like occupational ones: [[King (surname)|King]], [[Bishop (surname)|Bishop]], [[Abbot (surname)|Abbot]], [[Sheriff (surname)|Sheriff]], [[Knight (surname)|Knight]], etc. but it is rather unlikely that a person with surname King was a king or descended from a king. [[Bernard Deacon (linguist)|Bernard Deacon]] suggests that the first nickname/surname bearer may have acted as a king or bishop, or was corpulent as bishop. etc.<ref name=bede/>
A considerable group of surname-producing nicknames are [[ethnonyms]].<ref>Butkus, Alvydas, [https://www.proquest.com/openview/a9586f90d1ab73304fadfa2e0227c0d9/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=1818029 The Lithuanian Nicknames of Ethnonymic Origin], Indogermanische Forschungen; Strassburg Vol. 100, (Jan 1, 1995): 223.</ref><ref>Tamás Farkas, [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315457178_Surnames_of_Ethnonymic_Origin_in_the_Hungarian_Language Surnames of Ethnonymic Origin in the Hungarian Language], In: Name and Naming. Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Onomastics. Onomastics in Contemporary Public Space. Baia Mare, May 9–11, 2013, pp.504–517</ref>
===Ornamental surnames===<!-- [[Ornamental name]] redirects here -->
'''Ornamental surnames''' are made up of names, not specific to any attribute (place, parentage, occupation, caste) of the first person to acquire the name, and stem from the middle class's desire for their own hereditary names like the nobles. They were generally acquired later in history and generally when those without surnames needed them. In 1526, King Frederik I of Denmark-Norway ordered that noble families must take up fixed surnames, and many of them took as their name some element of their coat of arms; for example, the Rosenkrantz ("rose wreath") family took their surname from a wreath of roses comprising the torse of their arms,<ref>Hiort-Lorensen, H.R., and Thiset, A. (1910) ''Danmarks Adels Aarbog'', 27th ed. Copenhagen: Vilh. Trydes Boghandel, p. 371.</ref> and the Gyldenstierne (“golden star”) family took theirs from a 7-pointed gold star on their shield.<ref>von Irgens-Bergh, G.O.A., and Bobe, L. (1926) ''Danmarks Adels Aarbog'', 43rd ed. Copenhagen: Vilh. Trydes Boghandel, p. 3.</ref> Subsequently, many middle-class Scandinavian families desired names similar to those of the nobles and adopted “ornamental” surnames as well. Most other naming traditions refer to them as "acquired". They might be given to people newly immigrated, conquered, or converted, as well as those with unknown parentage, formerly enslaved, or from parentage without a surname tradition.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ornamental Name |url=https://www.nordicnames.de/wiki/Ornamental_Name |access-date=27 July 2021 |website=Nordic Names |archive-date=27 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727044746/https://www.nordicnames.de/wiki/Ornamental_Name |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The History of Last Names |url=http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~deeskindredkorner/genealogy/History%20of%20Last%20Names.html |access-date=27 July 2021 |archive-date=27 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727044745/http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~deeskindredkorner/genealogy/History%20of%20Last%20Names.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
Ornamental surnames are more common in communities that adopted (or were forced to adopt) surnames in the 18th and 19th centuries.<ref name="bowman" /> They occur commonly in Scandinavia, and among [[Sinti and Roma]] and Jews in Germany and Austria.<ref name="hanks" />
===Acquired surnames===
During the era of the [[Trans-Atlantic slave trade]] many Africans were given new names by their masters. Many of the family names of many African-Americans have their origins in slavery (''i.e.'' [[slave name]]). Some freed slaves later created family names themselves.<ref name="x915">{{cite web | last=Craven | first=Julia | title=Many African American last names hold weight of Black history | website=NBC News | date=2022-02-24 | url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/many-african-american-last-names-hold-weight-black-history-rcna17267 | access-date=2024-06-02}}</ref>
Another category of acquired names is [[Child abandonment|foundlings]] names. Historically, children born to unwed parents or extremely poor parents would be abandoned in a public place or anonymously placed in a [[Baby hatch#History|foundling wheel]]. Such abandoned children might be claimed and named by religious figures, the community leaders, or adoptive parents. Some such children were given surnames that reflected their condition, like (Italian) [[Esposito]], [[Innocenti (surname)|Innocenti]], [[Casagrande|Della Casagrande]], [[Trovato]], Abbandonata, or (Dutch) Vondeling, Verlaeten, Bijstand. Other children were named for the street/place they were found (Union, Liquorpond (street), di Palermo, Baan, Bijdam, van den Eyngel (shop name), [[van der Stoep (surname)|van der Stoep]], von Trapp), the date they were found ([[Monday (surname)|Monday]], Septembre, Spring, di Gennaio), or festival/feast day they found or christened (Easter, SanJosé). Some foundlings were given the name of whoever found them.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Finding Foundlings: Searching for Abandoned Children in Italy |url=https://www.legacytree.com/blog/finding-foundlings-italy |access-date=27 July 2021 |website=Legacy Tree Genealogists |date=14 September 2017 |archive-date=27 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727061540/https://www.legacytree.com/blog/finding-foundlings-italy |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=England Regional, Ethnic, Foundling Surnames (National Institute) |url=https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/England_Regional,_Ethnic,_Foundling_Surnames_(National_Institute) |access-date=27 July 2021 |website=FamilySearch Research Wiki |date=4 September 2014 |archive-date=27 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727044744/https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/England_Regional,_Ethnic,_Foundling_Surnames_(National_Institute) |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Deciphering Dutch Foundling Surnames |url=https://www.dutchancestrycoach.com/Deciphering%20Dutch%20Foundling%20Surnames |access-date=27 July 2021 |website=Dutch Ancestry Coach |archive-date=27 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727044755/https://www.dutchancestrycoach.com/Deciphering%20Dutch%20Foundling%20Surnames |url-status=dead }}</ref>
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===Other===
The meanings of some names are unknown or unclear. The most common European name in this category may be the Irish name [[Ryan (surname)|Ryan]], which means 'little king' in Irish.<ref name="cottle" /><ref name="reaney" /> Also, Celtic origin of the name Arthur, meaning '[[Artur|bear]]'. Other surnames may have arisen from more than one source: the name [[DeLuca|De Luca]], for instance, likely arose either in or near Lucania or in the family of someone named Lucas or Lucius;<ref name="hanks" /> in some instances, however, the name may have arisen from Lucca, with the spelling and pronunciation changing over time and with emigration.<ref name="hanks" /> The same name may appear in different cultures by coincidence or romanization; the surname [[Lee (English name)|Lee]] is used in English culture, but is also a romanization of the Chinese surname ''[[Li (surname
== Order of names ==
{{Further|Personal name#Name order}}
In many cultures (particularly in [[Culture of Europe|European]] and European-influenced cultures in the Americas, Oceania, etc., as well as West Asia/North Africa, South Asia, and most Sub-Saharan African cultures), the surname or family name ("last name") is placed after the personal, [[Given name|forename]] (in Europe) or given name ("first name"). In other cultures the surname is placed first, followed by the given name or names. The latter is often called the [[Name order|Eastern naming order]] because Europeans are most familiar with the examples from the [[East Asian cultural sphere]], specifically, [[Chinese name|Greater China]], [[Korean name|Korea (both North and South)]], [[Japanese name|Japan]], and [[Vietnamese name|Vietnam]]. This is also the case in [[Cambodia]] and among the [[Hmong people|Hmong]] of [[Laos]] and [[Thailand]]. The [[Telugu language|Telugu]] people of south India also place surname before personal name. There are some parts of Europe, in particular [[Hungary]],
Since family names are normally written last in European societies, the terms last name or surname are commonly used for the family name, while in Japan (with vertical writing) the family name may be referred to as "upper name" ({{Nihongo||
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In Iceland, surnames have a gender-specific suffix (-dóttir = daughter, -son = son).<ref>{{cite web |title=Icelandic names - everything you need to know |url=https://www.re.is/blog/icelandic-names/ |publisher=Reykjavik Excursions |access-date=23 June 2023 |archive-date=13 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230613145935/https://www.re.is/blog/icelandic-names/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
Finnish used gender-specific suffixes up to 1929 when the Marriage Act forced women to use the husband's form of the surname. In 1985, this clause was removed from the act.<ref>{{
Until at least 1850, women's surnames were suffixed with an -in in Tyrol.
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===Indication of family membership status===
{{see also|Maiden and married names}}
Some Slavic cultures originally distinguished the surnames of married and unmarried women by different suffixes, but this distinction is no longer widely observed. Some Czech dialects (Southwest-Bohemian) use the form "Novákojc" as informal for both genders. In the culture of the [[Sorbs]] (a.k.a. Wends or Lusatians), [[Sorbian languages|Sorbian]] used different female forms for unmarried daughters (Jordanojc, Nowcyc, Kubašec, Markulic), and for wives (Nowakowa, Budarka, Nowcyna, Markulina). In Polish, typical surnames for unmarried women ended -ówna, -anka, or -ianka, while the surnames of married women used the possessive suffixes -ina or -owa. In Lithuania, if the husband is named Vilkas, his wife will be named Vilkienė and his unmarried daughter will be named Vilkaitė. Male surnames have suffixes -as, -is, -ius, or -us, unmarried girl surnames aitė, -ytė, -iūtė or -utė, wife surnames -ienė. These suffixes are also used for foreign names, exclusively for grammar; Welby, the surname of [[Justin Welby|the present Archbishop of Canterbury]]
Many surnames include prefixes that may or may not be separated by a space or punctuation from the main part of the surname. These are usually not considered true compound names, rather single surnames are made up of more than one word. These prefixes often give hints about the type or origin of the surname (patronymic, toponymic, notable lineage) and include words that mean from [a place or lineage], and son of/daughter of/child of.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}
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