Surname

Not to be confused with Suriname.

A surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name; the family-name meaning of "surname" first appeared in 1375.[1] Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name". In Western countries, it is also commonly known as a "last name," while in Hungary and in many countries of East Asia, the family name is placed before the individual's given name.

In some cultures, the surname may be a patronymic or matronymic. Some mononymous cultures, such as the Burmese, large populations of South Indians, and some Javanese, do not use surnames at all.

Contents

Order of words

In some cultures, including those of most Western countries, the surname or family name ("last name") is placed after the personal or given name ("first name"). In other cultures the surname is placed first, followed by the given name or names; this is the case in Hungary, South India and countries in the Chinese cultural sphere including Japan, Korea, Vietnam and China.

In Japan and Hong Kong (China), when persons of Japanese or Hong Kong Chinese origin, respectively, write their personal name in the Latin alphabet, it is common to reverse the order of the given and family names for the convenience of Westerners. Hungarians do the same when interacting with other Europeans. Reversing the order of names is also somewhat common in Estonian and Finnish, which are Finno-Ugric languages like Hungarian.

Formation

Name etymologists classify European surnames under five categories, depending on their origin.[2][3] These include:

The meanings of some names are unknown or unclear. The most common European name in this category may be the Irish name "Ryan", which has no known meaning.[3][5] Other surnames may have arisen from more than one source: the name "De Luca", for instance, likely arose either in or near Lucania or in the family of someone named Lucas or Lucius;[4] in some instances, however, the name may have arisen from Lucca, with the spelling and pronunciation changing over time and with emigration.[4] The same name may appear in different cultures by coincidence or romanization; the surname Lee is used in English culture, but is also a romanization of the Chinese surname Li.[5]

Surname origins have been the subject of much folk etymology, often by individuals intent on proving that their own surname is more noble or royal than the average name. The name "Ryan" mentioned above, for example, is often said to be derived from Gaelic words meaning "little king"; this etymology is commonly found on name origin websites and in less stringently edited books.[4][5] Some folk etymologies also develop because a name is seen to be coarse or crude: the surname "Death" is explained away as being an Anglicization of "D'Ath" for this reason.[3]

Surnames were uncommon prior to the 12th century, and still somewhat rare into the 13th; most European surnames were originally occupational or locational, and served to distinguish one person from another if they happened to live near one another (i e, two different people named John could conceivably be identified as 'John Butcher' and 'John Chandler'). This still happens, in some communities where a surname is particularly common, for example on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland, many residents have the family name MacLeod (son of Lewis) and so may still be known by a surname symbolising their occupation such as 'Kevin the post' and 'Kevin Handbag'

In French Canada until the 19th century, several families adopted surnames that followed the family name in order to distinguish the various branches of a large family. Such a surname was preceded by the word "dit" ("said") and was known as a "nom-dit" ("said-name"). While this tradition is no longer in use, in many cases the nom-dit has come to replace the original family name. Thus the Bourbeau family has split into Bourbeau dit Verville, Bourbeau dit Lacourse, and Bourbeau dit Beauchesne. In many cases Verville, Lacourse, or Beauchesne has become the new family name. Likewise, the Rivard family has split into the Rivard dit Lavigne, Rivard dit Loranger and Rivard dit Lanoie. The origin of the nom-dit can vary. Often it denoted a geographical trait of the area where that branch of the family lived: Verville lived towards the city, Beauchesne lived near an oak tree, Larivière near a river, etc. Some of the oldest noms-dits are derived from the war name of a settler who served in the army or militia: Tranchemontagne ("mountain slasher"), Jolicœur ("braveheart"). Others denote a personal trait: Lacourse might have been a fast runner, Legrand was probably tall, etc.

Surname formed from a parent's name

A simple family tree showing the Icelandic patronymic naming system.
See Icelandic names and Habesha name

The Icelandic system, formerly used in much of Scandinavia, does not use family names. A person's surname indicates the first name of the person's father (patronymic) or in some cases mother (matronymic). The words patronymic and matronymic derive from Greek patr (father) and matr (mother), + onyma (name). Most family names in other Scandinavian countries are a result of this naming practice, such as Hansen (son of Hans), Johansen (son of Johan) and Olson (Son of Ole/Ola) the three most common surnames in Norway.[6]

Patronymic name conventions are similar in some other nations, including Malaysia (see Malaysian name) and other Muslim countries, among most people of the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala (unlike another Indian state Andhra Pradesh, where ancestral origin village names have become surnames for the people), in Mongolia and in the Scottish Gaelic personal naming system. In Russia and Bulgaria, both a patronym and a family name are obligatory parts of one's full name: e.g. if a Russian is called Ivan Andreyevich Sergeyev, that means that his father's name is Andrey and his family name is Sergeyev. A similar system is used in Greece. However, unlike the Icelandic case, only the family name is generally identified as a surname proper. In Ethiopia and Eritrea, a child adopts the given name of one of their parents, usually the father, as a pseudo-surname. For example, Abraham Mesfin's father's name would have been Mesfin, while a child would be called "Nestanet Abraham". It is important to note that to refer to Abraham Mesfin as "Mr. Mesfin" would be erroneous, and that the correct term would be "Mr. Abraham". Very rarely would children adopt their mother's given name, who in any case would retain their "pseudo-surname".

Culture and prevalence

In the United States, 1,712 surnames cover 50 percent of the population, and about 1 percent of the population has the surname Smith.[7] Approximately 70 percent of Canadians have surnames that are of English, Irish, French, or Scottish derivation.

Some estimates say that 85 percent of China's population shares 100 surnames. In China the names Wang, Zhang and Li are the most common.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "surname", Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper, Historian. December 10, 2007.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Bowman, William Dodgson. The Story of Surnames. London, George Routledge & Sons, Ltd., 1932. No ISBN.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Cottle, Basil. Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967. No ISBN.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Hanks, Patrick, and Hodges, Olivia. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989. ISBN 0192115928.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Reaney, P.H., and Wilson, R.M. A Dictionary of English Surnames. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997. Rev. 3rd ed. ISBN 0198600925.
  6. ↑ Statistics Norway name statistics, 2009
  7. ↑ U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division (1995). Genealogy. U.S. Census Bureau.
  8. ↑ LaFRANIERE S. (2009). Name Not on Our List? Change It, China Says. New York Times.