Surnames

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. Even in the West, however, family names are often presented first in many written contexts.

The 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.

In 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 it is inaccurately called "second name", which can be confused with the middle name). In Spain, people have one or more given names (that acts as a single name) and two family names (one from the father and one from the mother, in that order). In Italy, people may have one or more given name, but there is not the concept of middle name. In most documents the family name is listed first. For example, Rossi Mario or Neri Elisabetta.

The use of family names are not universal among all cultures. In particular, Icelanders, Tibetans and Javanese often do not use a family name — well-known people lacking a family name include Suharto and Sukarno (see Indonesian names). Also, many royal families do not use family names. In many cultures, both Eastern and Western, few families had surnames prior to the period 15th-19th century. During these times, often only aristocratic families had family names. In some cultures, including the U.S.A. and U.K., a woman's family name changes upon marriage. When this takes place, her original family name (before any marriages), typically her father's family name is known as her maiden name. Such a woman usually adopts her husband's family name; any children as a result of the union also take this family name. This is merely traditional however — few countries mandate such a change, and many permit children to have a different family name. In any case, since most countries allow name changes, a man can also take his wife's last name upon marriage (this is the tradition among some aboriginal groups in Canada). In modern times, particularly in English-speaking countries, there are other options. Some people choose to take a so-called "double-barrelled name" upon marriage, combining both family names, joined by a hyphen. In some cases, no change is made at all to either party's name. Other people choose to create a new name, as a combination of letters of previous surnames, or without connection to their previous surnames, although these practices are not common unless one desires or needs to create a pseudonym. Pseudonyms may be taken to conceal the authorship of a piece of literature, to conceal double-agent status or national treason, to remove a negative reputation associated with one's surname (due either to one's past actions or to those of a family member with the same surname), or for other reasons.

In 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.)

English-speaking countries

Almost all surnames of English origin fall into just four types:

• Occupations (e.g. Smith, Baker, Archer)
• Personal characteristics (e.g. Short, Brown, Whitehead)
• Places & geographical features (e.g. Scott, Hill, Rivers, Windsor)
• Ancestry, often based on a first name (e.g. Richardson, James) or, if we include surnames of Scottish origin; clan (e.g. Macdonald, Forbes).

These surname types describe respectively the occupation, personal characteristics, location/origin, and ancestry (typically father's name) of the distant ancestor to whom the surname was first applied. Of course, the original meaning of the name may no longer be obvious in modern English (e.g. Cooper = barrel maker). Arguably there is also a much smaller fifth category of names relating to religion, though some of these are also occupations (e.g. Bishop). The names Bishop, Priest or Abbot usually mean that the ancestor worked for a Bishop, Priest or Abbot.

In the Americas, the family names of many African-Americans have their origins in slavery. Many of them were given the surnames of their owners. Many freed slaves created family names themselves, or adopted the name of their former master. Others, such as Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X, changed their name rather than live with one given to their ancestors by a slave owner.

It has long been the custom for women to give up their family name (called the birth name or maiden name) upon marriage, and to use their husband's last name in its place. In recent years, more women have chosen to keep their birth name when they are married. Still, even in families where the wife has kept her birth name, parents often choose to give their children their father's family name. In English-speaking countries, women traditionally became Mrs. [Husband's name] upon marriage, though recently they are more often referred to as Mrs. [First name] [Husband's surname].

It is extremely rare for men in Western countries to take the name of their wives; this was chiefly done in the Middle Ages, when a man from a low-born family was marrying an only daughter from a higher-status family, and was thus designated to carry on his wife's family name. In the 18th and 19th centuries in Britain, bequests were sometimes made contingent upon a man changing (or hyphenating) his name, so that the name of the legator continued. However, some men now choose to take their wives' names rather than the reverse (especially among Canadian aboriginal groups) or a married couple may choose a new last name rather than that of either the husband or the wife (this is very rare).

As an alternative, the husband and wife may adopt a double-barrelled name. For instance, when John Smith and Mary Jones marry each other, they become known as John Smith-Jones and Mary Smith-Jones. However, many couples dislike this option, because it can make for very long names (like Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby), especially if either person already has a double surname. The wife may also opt to make her maiden name her middle name. So, when John Smith marries Mary Jones, she is still Mrs. Smith, but she can also refer to herself as Mary Jones Smith.

In some jurisdictions, it used to be the case that the woman's legal name changed automatically upon marriage. This is no longer true; although women may easily change to their married name, it is no longer a default option. In some places, civil rights lawsuits or constitutional amendments were used to change the law so that men could also easily change their married names, e.g. in British Columbia.

Frequently, women in academia who have previously published articles in academic journals under their maiden name often do not change their surname after marriage, in order to ensure that they continue to receive credit for their past and future work. This practice is also common among female physicians, attorneys and other professionals, where continuity is important.

French-speaking countries

French-speaking countries have many similarities to English-speaking ones in the way family names are used. In France and the Canadian province of Quebec, name change upon marriage is no longer automatic. Those who wish to change their name upon marriage must follow the same legal procedure as would be used under any other circumstance.

In France, until January 1, 2005, children were required by law to take the surname of their father. From this date, article 311-21 of the French Civil code permits parents to give their children either the name of their father, mother, or a hyphenation of both - although no more than two names can be hyphenated. In cases of disagreement the father's name applies [1]. This brought France into line with a 1978 declaration by the Council of Europe requiring member governments to take measures to adopt equality of rights in the transmission of family names, a measure that was echoed by the United Nations in 1979. Similar measures were adopted by Germany (1976), Sweden (1982), Denmark (1983) and Spain (1999).

Furthermore, in French Canada, up until the late 1960s, children of Catholic origin were given three names at birth (usually not hyphenated): the first, Marie or Joseph, usually indicated the gender of the child. The second was usually the name of the godfather or godmother, while the third and last given name was the name used in everyday situations. Thus, a child prenamed Joseph Bruno Jean on their birth or baptismal certificate would indicate the baby to be a boy, the godfather's first name to be Bruno and that the child would be called Jean (and not Joseph) for all intents and purposes of everyday life. This naming convention was in the most part dropped following the Quiet Revolution (late 1960s), and is now seen much more rarely.

Ireland

For more details on this topic, see Irish name.

Many surnames in Ireland of Gaelic origin derive from ancestor's names; nicknames; or descriptive names. In the first group can be placed surnames such as Mac Murrough, Mac Carthy (derived from father's names) or O'Brien, O'Toole (ancestral names).

Gaelic surnames derived from nicknames include O'Doherty (from "dochartach", hurtful), Garvery ("garbh", rough or nasty), Manton ("mantach", toothless), Bane ("bán", white, as in white hair), Finn ("fionn", fair, as in fair or blonde hair), Kennedy ("cinnéide", ugly head).

In contrast to England, very few Gaelic surnames are derived from place names. Among those that included in this small group, several can be shown to be bastardizations of Gaelic personal names or surnames.

In areas where certain family names are extremely common, extra names are added that sometimes follow this archaic pattern. In Ireland, for example, where "Murphy" is an exceedingly common name, particular Murphy families or extended families are nicknamed, so that Denis Murphy's family were called "The Weavers" and Denis himself was called Denis "The Weaver" Murphy. see also: O'Hay

For much the same reason, nicknames (the Fada Burkes, i.e. the long/tall Burkes), father's names (John Morrissey Ned) or mother's maiden name (Kennedy becoming Kennedy-Lydon) can become colloquial or legal surnames. The Irish family of de Courcy Ireland became so-named to distinguish them from their cousins who moved to France in the 17th and 18th centuries.

In addition to all this, Irish speaking areas still follow the old tradition of naming themselves after their father, grandfather, great-grandfather and so on. Examples include: Mike Bartly Pat Reilly (i.e, Mike son of Bartholomew son of Pat Reilly), John Michel John Oge Pat Breanach (John son of Michael son of young John son of Pat Breanach), Tom Paddy-Joe Seoige (Tom son of Paddy-Joe Seoige), Mary Bartly Mike Walsh (Mary daughter of Bartly son of Mike Walsh), and so on. Sometimes, the female line of the family is used, depending on how well the parent is known in the area the person resides eg. Paddy Mary John (Paddy son of Mary daughter of John). Even in English-speaking areas, especially in rural districts, something of this tradition continues.

Irish surname prefixes

• Mac (usually shortened to Mc): Mac is Irish for son.
• Mac Giolla: Son of the devotee of a saint, or, more properly, son of a man whose name was the likes of Giolla Pádraig, (Mac) Giolla Bhrighde, and so on. An equivalent would be the use of St. George and St. John as forenames in England in the 18th and 19th century.
• Maol: In Pagan times this was expressed as Mug, as in the case of Mug Nuada. The literal expression of this is "slave of Nuada". Slave should be seen in the same sense as "devotee". In the Christian era the word Mael was used in its place for given names such as Mael Bridget, Mael Padraig, Mael Sechlainn, Mael Martain, and so on. In later times, some of these given names evolved into surnames (Ó Máel Sechlainn, Mac Mael Martain, etc.).
• Fitz: a Norman-French word derived from the Latin word filius meaning 'son'. It was used in patronymics by thousands of men in the early Norman period in Ireland (fitz Stephen, fitz Richard, fitz Robert, fitz William) and only on some occasions did it become used as an actual surname, the most famous example being the FitzGerald Earls of Kildare. Yet well into the 17th and 18th century it was used in certain areas dominated by the Old English of Ireland in its original form, as a patronymic. The Tribes of Galway were especially good at conserving this form, with examples such as John fitz John Bodkin, Michael Lynch fitz Arthur, and so on, being used even as late as the early 1800's. Despite claims to the contrary, the use of Fitz in a surname does not, and never did, denote illegitimacy. This misunderstanding may have originated because a number of illegitimate members of the British royal family were given such surnames: some of the illegitimate children of King Charles II were named Fitzcharles or Fitzroy; those of King James II were named Fitzjames; those of William duke of Clarence (later King William IV) were named Fitzclarence.
• Ó: In Old Irish as 'ua', meaning grandson, or descendant, of a given person. For example, the ancestor of the O'Brien clan, Brian Boru (937-1014) was known in his lifetime as Brian mac Lorcán mac Cennéide, i.e., Brian the son of Lorcán the son of Cennéide. Not till the time of his grandsons and great-grandsons was the name O'Brien used as a surname, used to denote descent from an illustrious ancestor. It has for some three hundred years been written as O', but in recent years the apostrophe is being dropped, bringing it into line with early medieval forms.
• Uí:This is the plural of Ó and is used in reference to a kin-group or clan, e.g. Uí Néill, in reference to the O'Neill clan. Pronounced "ee".
• Ní: This is used in the Irish Language instead of "O" before a surname and comes a shortened form of the Irish word for a daughter, e.g. Máire Ní Bhriain, Mary O'Brien.
• Nic: Compressed form of iníon mhic (meaning "daughter of Mac..."),e.g. Máire Nic Charthaigh, literally Mary daughter of McCarthy
• Bean: Wife. Pronounced as ban.

Italy

See also: Italian surnames category.

Italian names are mostly derived from Latin, but since Italy has been often ruled by foreigners, many surnames are of Spanish, French, German, Norman or Swiss origin (and thus often Romance language names). Beginning in the 14th century, it became necessary to add a second name to distinguish between individuals with the same surname.

Italian surnames are especially easy to recognize because most end in a vowel—like nearly all words in Standard Italian—and many of them have been derived from descriptive nicknames.

Italian surnames developed from four major sources:

Patronymic Surnames: These last names are based on a parent’s name, usually the father (Francesco di Marco i.e. Francis, son of Mark)

Occupational Surnames: These surnames are based on the person’s job or trade (Giovanni Fabbri i.e. John the Smith)

Descriptive Surnames: Derived from a unique quality of the individual, these surnames often developed from nicknames or pet names (Dario Forte i.e. Darius the Strong)

Geographical Surnames: These surnames are based on a person’s geographic origin, (Elisabetta Romano i.e. Elisabeth from Rome)

Few family names are still in the original Latin, and usually they indicate very old families (or those with pretensions to antiquity.) For example de Judicibus or de Laurentis. If the family was noble, the de has lowercase d, otherwise it is uppercase.

Greece

Greek surnames usually describe occupation or characteristics. Some are prefixed with papa- which indicates ancestry from a priest. Common patronymic suffixes are -poulos (Peloponessus), -idis, -iadis (Pontus), -akis (Crete), -atos (Ionian sea), -ellis (Lesvos Island). Note that -idis survives from the ancient times (-ides) as a suffix of patronymic epithets. Zeus for example was also referred to as Cronides (son of Cronus)

Pakistan

Pakistani surnames are basically divided in two categories: tribal names and ancestral names. The Muslim surnames: Shaikh, Siddiqui, Abbasi, Syed, Farooqi, Osmani, Alavi, Hassani, Hussaini, Suhrawardi, etc. indicates Arab heritage. Khan is the most common surname in Pakistan and Afghanistan indicating Turkish and Central Asian ancestory. The Mughal, Mirza, Baig or Beg, Pasha, Barlas, etc. family names also indicate Turkish heritage. The people claiming Iranian ancestry have family names: Kermani, Shirazi, Kashani, Hamadani, Saadi, Sabzvari, Qizilbash, Firdausi, Montazeri, Agha, Sistani, Khorasani, Noorani, Zahedi, Yazdani, Ghazali, Isfahani, Mir, Zand, Nishapuri, etc. Tribal names: Bizenjo, Leghari, Baloch, Brohi, Jamali, Bugti, Mengal, Rathore, Jamote, Khuhro, Jatoi, Soomro, Makhdoom, Magsi, Bhutto, Janjua, Panhwar, Junejo, Awan, Bhatti, Bijarani, Raisani, Bajwa, Khar, Butt, Malik, Kayani, Afaqi, Amini, Ghaznavi, Barakzai, Baranzai, Rabbani, Gikchi, Thebo, Joyo, Palijo, Jakhrani, Talpur, Afridi, Popalzai, Lodhi, Sulaimankhel, Mandokhel, Karmazkhel, Rakhshani, Ashrafkhel, Zamani, Ghilzai, Lakhani etc.

Portugal and Brazil

For more details on this topic, see Iberian naming customs.

The Portuguese position is the reverse of the Spanish one. Each person has at least two family names: the first is the maternal family name; the second is the paternal family name. A person can have up to six names (two first names and four surnames — he or she may have two names from the mother and two from the father). In Brazil the rule is the same except that it is now very common for a person to have only one family name: the paternal family name. In the ancient ages the patronymicum was commonly used — surnames like Gonçalves (son of Gonçalo), Fernandes (son of Fernando), Nunes (son of Nuno) and many more are used today as usual family names. Brazilians usually do not call people by their family names, even in formal situations. First names are almost always used. In formal situations usually is used both first and surname in this order (e. g. John Saints aka João Santos), and when used together with a prefix too (e. g. Mr. John Saints aka Sr. João Santos).

Spain and Hispanic areas

For more details on this topic, see Iberian naming customs.

In medieval times, a patronymic system similar to the one still used in Iceland emerged. For example, Álvaro 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 are some of the most common names in the Spanish-speaking world. Other sources of surnames are personal appearance or habit: Delgado (thin), Moreno (dark); occupations: Molinero (miller), Guerrero (warrior); geographic location or ethnicity: Alemán (German).

However, nowadays in Spain and in some countries of Hispanic culture (former Spanish colonies), as México, Colombia, Venezuela, etc., each person has two family names (although in some situations only the first is used): the first is the first (paternal) family name of the father; the second is the first family name of the mother; Depending on the country, these may or may not be linked by the conjunction "y" (and), "de" (of) and "de la" (also of, but more specific). However, in many south-American countries people has now adopted the "English" way, thus having a single family name. Sometimes if a new father wants to keep his complete last name eg. Javier (name) Reyes (first lastname) de la Barrera (second lastname), he can create a new one lastname, bonding the two lastnames in one, so the first last name of his son will be Reyes de la Barrera.

At present day in Spain, women upon marrying keep their two family names intact. In certain situations she may be addressed as if her maternal surname were substituted with her husbands paternal surname often linked with "de". Thus, Ana García Díaz, upon marrying Juan Guerrero Macías, could also be called Ana García de Guerrero, but this custom, that comes from medieval times, is decaying and has no legal validity (except in Ecuador). In this country a couple can choose the order of the family name for their children: they can keep the traditional way, as explained — Guerrero García in the example — which is what most people do, or invert the order, putting the mother's primary family name first and afterwards the father's — García Guerrero. This decision must be maintained for all the children.

The Philippines

Until the middle of the 19th century, there was no standardization of surnames in the Philippines. There were native Filipinos without surnames, others whose surnames deliberately did not match that of their families, as well as those who took certain surnames simply because they had a certain prestige, usually ones dealing with the Roman Catholic religion, such as de los Santos and de la Cruz.

In 1849, the Spanish governor Narciso Clavería y Zaldúa decreed an end to these arbitrary practices, the result of which was the Catálogo Alfabético de Apellidos (Alphabetic Catalog of Surnames). The book contained many words coming from Spanish and the Philippine languages such as Tagalog.

The actual application of this decree varied from municipality to municipality. Some municipalities received only surnames starting with a particular letter. For example, the majority of residents of the island of Banton in Romblon province have surnames starting with F such as Fabicon, Fallarme, Fadrilan, Ferran, etc. This means that although there are perhaps a majority of Filipinos with Spanish surnames, such a surname does not imply Spanish ancestry.

There are other sources for surnames. For example, in Muslim-dominated areas of the southern Philippines, surnames are usually of Arabic origin such as Hassan and Haradji.

Many Filipinos also have Chinese surnames which yield clues as to when their Chinese ancestor immigrated to the Philippines. For example, a surname like Cojuangco, which was Hispanicized, suggests an 18th-century immigration while a surname like Lim suggests a relatively recent one. Some Chinese last names like Tiu-Laurel are composed of the immigrant Chinese ancestor's surname as well as the name of that ancestor's godparent.

There are also Filipinos, particularly those from rural tribes, who have no surnames at all.

The vast majority of Filipinos follow a naming system which is the reverse of the Spanish one. Children take the mother's surname as their middle name, followed by their father's as their surname; for example, a son of Juan de la Cruz and Maria Agbayani would be David Agbayani de la Cruz. Women take the surnames of their husband upon marriage; so upon her marriage to David de la Cruz, Laura Yuchengco Macaraeg's full name would become Laura Yuchengco Macaraeg de la Cruz.

Iceland

For more details on this topic, see Icelandic name.

In Iceland, most people have no family name; a person's last name is a patronymic, i.e. a modified form of the father's first name or, sometimes, the mother's. For example, when a man called Karl has a daughter called Anna and a son called Magnús, their names will be Anna Karlsdóttir ("daughter of Karl") and Magnús Karlsson ("son of Karl").

Scandinavia

In Scandinavia family names often, but certainly not always, originate from a patronymic. In Sweden, the patronymic ending is -sson, e.g. Karlsson ("Karl's son"). In Denmark and Norway, the corresponding ending is -sen, as in Karlsen. Names ending with dotter/datter (daughter), such as Olofsdotter, are rare but occurring, and only applies to females. Today, the patronymic names are passed on similarly to family names in other Western countries, and a person's father doesn't have to be called Karl if he or she has the surname Karlsson.

Before the 19th century there was the same system in Scandinavia as in Iceland today. Noble families, however, as a rule adopted a family name, which could refer to a presumed or real forefather (e.g. Earl Birger Magnusson Folkunge) or to the family's coat of arms (e.g. King Gustav Eriksson Vasa). In many surviving family noble names, such as Cederqvist ("cedar-twig") or Stiernhielm ("star-helmet"), the spelling is obsolete, but as names remains unchanged.

Later on, people from the Scandinavian middle classes, particularly artisans and town dwellers, adopted names in a similar fashion to that of the nobility. Family names such as the Swedish Bergman, Holmberg, Lindgren, Sandström and Åkerlund were quite frequent and remain common today. The same is true for similar Norwegian and Danish names.

These names often indicated the place of residence of the family. For this reason, Denmark and Norway have a very high incidence of names derived from those of farms, many signified by the suffix -gaard -- the modern spelling is gård in Danish and has changed to gard in Norwegian, but as in Sweden, archaic spelling persists in surnames. The most well-known example of this kind of surname is probably Kierkegaard (original meaning: the farm located by the Church or also churchyard [although this is unlikely in the context] which, with kierke, actually includes two archaic spellings), but many others could be cited. It should also be noted that, since the names in question are derived from the original owners' domiciles, the possession of this kind of name is no longer an indicator of affinity with others who bear it.

The Netherlands

Many Dutch names start with a prefix like "van" (meaning of/from), "de"/"het"/"'t" (the), "der" (of the), "van de" (of the/from the), "in het" (in the). Examples are "'t Hooft" (the head), "de Groot" (the great), "van Rijn" (from Rhine). These prefixes are not spelled with a capital when used in combination with the first name, for example, Piet de Groot. When written without first name, a capital is used, e.g., Mr. Van Rijn. In name directories, the prefixes are always ignored for sorting.

Belgium

Since Belgium has three official languages — Dutch, French and German — Belgian names are more or less what y