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by Science Whiz on June 16th, 2010

Science Whiz

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How do last names in a family start? Who made them?

There had to be someone that said,"Hey, I have an idea! When we have a family, we should give our children the name Smith after the first name, and when they marry, it will go on!"

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Answers. 2 helpful answers below.

  • by Mike81069 on June 16th, 2010

    Mike81069

    It started with people getting confused over people with the same name. So they started saying things like for example you know Steve, John's son. Then it became Steve Johnson. It just progressed from there.

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  • by swanni09 on June 16th, 2010

    swanni09

    it can come from people being described by their names, where they come from, their family etc.

    for instance, jameson, stevenson and johnson are literally, son of james, son of steven, son of john.

    john smith, jack carpenter, had ancestors who were smiths and carpenters.

    scots with Mc or mac at the start of their name indicate the clan their family came from or had loyalty to, mcleod, macalpine, etc.

    and a famous instance of a name showing were your ancestors come from; the name Wallace means Welshman. (or "of Wales")

    over the years these have stuck, even if you have no such clan ties, occupation or fathers names. for instance, the surname swan is a scottish name that owes lineage to viking settlers, whose surname was svenn, and has changed to swan, swann and swanson over the centuries.

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