Haha~ I don’t know much about naming customs, but I can still find some information on European surname culture, and there are many similarities among them!
1. The origin of English surnames
The origin of English surnames has an interesting history. In the past, people only had a name given to them when they were born. For example, maybe it's called John, maybe it's called Hilda. When people lived with a few people together as in the past or a few people lived in a small village, a name was enough. If there is a mention of Hilda or John, everyone in the village knows who he is referring to because there is only one Hilda or one John in a village, but over time, small villages develop into large villages, Some large villages developed into towns, so that there might be five or six Johns or five or six Hildas living in the same place. So how do people tell which John is which and which Hilda is? One way to solve this problem is to add the name of the job after the person's name. Thus, the person doing the cooking job might be called John the cook. A person who spun and weaved cloth might be called John the weaver. This gave rise to what we now call the second name, the surname. Sir name/surname/family name/last name "Over time, these surnames were passed on to their children. So John the Weaver's children might have been named Hilda Weaver and Charles ?Weaver (Charles weaver). That's why we still use them as surnames today.
"Wright" is an Old English word meaning a maker. , people who make carriages are called Cart wrights; people who make wheels are called Wheel wrights, and people who make ships are called Ship wrights. This explains why there are so many. The reason why people have surnames like Wright or Cart wright
Another common surname is Smith. Smith (blacksmith) is a person who works with metal. A person who makes things. Hence goldsmith, blacksmith, coppersmith, silversmith; sometimes these names are shortened to Tom gold or Tom silver. For many years, the blacksmith was a very important person. Although we no longer talk about blacksmiths, we still talk about John Smith and Hilda Smith.
Another way to distinguish two people with the same name is to add their residence after their names. Thus, two people named Tom who live in the same village might be called Tom Wood, Tom Wood. Or (Tom? Field) TomField (Tom? Field) This produces surnames such as Wood, Field, Street, Tree, Pond, Lake, Hill and Forest. Some surnames come from people with the same name. Different looks or appearances, for example: Longfellow (tall), Small-man (short), Brightman (smart person), Short (dwarf), Brown (black-faced person), a short man may be called Little John. , this is how his son's name came about. He might be called Tom Littlejohn. If he was always thirsty, he might be called Williams Drinkwater. There is another way to distinguish those with the same name. Two people with the same name. This is to add Son (son) after their names to indicate whose son they are.
In this way, if there are three people named Henry, they can be called Henryson of John, Henryson of Robin, and Henryson of William. Since then, the surnames have become Johnson, Robinson and Williamson. There are many English surnames whose origins are easy to find. But how some other surnames came about is harder to figure out. Only those scholars who specialize in vocabulary history can tell the origins of some of the more difficult words. [1] From a historical perspective, the British and American surname began in the 11th century AD. Before the Norman conquest of Britain in 1066 AD, the British had only first names but no surnames. After the Norman invasion, the Anglo-Saxons, the ancestors of the British, gradually had surnames. Morgan pointed out in "Ancient Society": "Until the time of the Norman Conquest, our ancestors, the Saxons, only had personal names and no surnames that represented the clan." With the development of feudal society and the sharp increase in the British population, there are many options to choose from. The number of personal names is far from meeting the needs of the surge in population, and more and more people have to choose the same personal name. In this way, each view requires adding a word to the personal name to show the difference. In order to enhance the social function of a person's name, the English-speaking people began to use personal additional names attached to the personal name. This kind of personal additional name is usually the person's professional name, place of birth, or nickname, such as John the Cook; Roy of London (London? Roy). Later, this personal additional name evolved into a surname, such as John the Cook evolved into John Cook. The usage and development of English surnames are largely influenced by law and religion. In 1538, Britain implemented the requirement that newborn babies must register their names after their baptism. This measure effectively promoted the fixed use and comprehensive popularity of surnames. English surnames were originally only available to nobles, so they were spelled "Sir name" and later evolved into "Surname" (of course it can also be called "family name" or "Last name"). Later, ordinary people also followed the nobles' practice and added a surname after their own names, or followed the surname of a certain noble. [2]
2. The composition and types of English surnames
English surnames formed a relatively fixed pattern between 1100 and 1450. English surnames originate from many languages; Old English, Old French, Old Norse, Irish, Gaelic, Celtic, Welsh, Gaulish, Germanic, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, etc. The origin and color of English surnames reflect the history of Britain. Britain is a country that has often suffered wars and foreign invasions in history. Britain has had extensive integration and mixing with foreign nations in history. According to their origin, English surnames can be roughly divided into 15 types.
1. Surnames derived from patronymic surnames. Many European countries use this method. This method is to add a prefix or suffix meaning "son of..." to the father's given name. The English add the suffix -son and -s, the Swedes add the suffix -son, the Scots add the prefix Mac-, the Irish add the prefix Mac- or Mc- and Q′-, the Normans add Fitz, and the Germans add Von-. Spaniards and Italians add Di-, and Danes and Norwegians add -sen. Such as: Johnson, McNeill, MacAdam, Jense, OBrian, Williams, FitzHerbert.
2. It comes from the body, physiological characteristics or lifestyle of the ancestors, such as appearance, figure, temper, morals, habits, etc., or from the nicknames (nick names) given by the father's relatives and friends, etc. surname. For example, if a man named Peter is tall and tall, people call him Peter the Strong, and later he becomes Peter Strong. Likewise, Roger, who was short in stature, became Roger Little or Roger Small. There are also Long, Short, Good, Hardy Wise, etc.
3. Surnames (occupational surnames) derived from ancestors’ occupations or skills they are good at, such as: Chancellor (Judge), Deacon, (Deputy Priest) Alderman, (Senior Municipal Officer, the status is second only to Mayor) Latimer, (Latimer Hugh) Latimer (1485-1555), an English religious leader, converted from orthodox Catholicism to Protestantism, served as Bishop of Worcester [1555], was arrested by the Catholic Queen Mary for treason and burned at the stake . Baxter (Baxter Richard) Baxter (1615-1691) was an English Christian Puritan pastor. During the Restoration, he was persecuted and imprisoned for urging the authorities to be lenient to moderates who broke away from the established church. Webster, (Webster Daniel) Webster (1782-1852) United States Secretary of State [1841-1843] [1850-1852] United States Representative [1813-1817] [1823-1827] Senator [1827-1841] [1845-1851 ], supported the 1828 tax bill, advocated protection of trade, signed the Webster-Ashburton Treaty with the United Kingdom [1842], and was one of the three presidential candidates of the American Whig Party [1836] Carter, Carter (Carriage Husband) Cook, (Chef) Clark, (Clark Champ) (Clark) [1850-1921] Speaker of the United States House of Representatives [1911-1919] Democratic Party, has always supported legislation that is beneficial to the West and the South. Carpenter, (Carpenter) Mason, (Mason) Taylor (Barber) Butch2er. (Butcher) Smith (Blacksmith) CopperSmith (Coppersmith) Goldsmith (Goldsmith) SilverSmith (Silversmith) Peddler (Peddler).
4. Locality-based surnames. This method was previously used in France and was brought to England after the Normans conquered England in the 11th century. It should be noted that many noble surnames were formed in this way. This caste often has particles such as de(la) and del, which means "of". The Saxon equivalent is "at(te)", such as: John atte Brook (brook), Edgar Atwell, (well) William Atwood (woods). Later, at (te) and other particles were removed, and the above names became what they are now; John Brook, Edgar Well, William Wood. Similar surnames include Everest (peak), Ford (shoal), Hill (mountain), Lake (lake), and Field (field).
5. Surnames from animals. This method came about mainly because in the Middle Ages, people liked to decorate their heads with the symbols of the animals they admired. If someone likes the bravery of lions, he will take Lion as his surname. Others include: Bull, (Bull) Fox, (Fox) Peacock, (Male Peacock) Lamb (Little Sheep) Bird (Little Bird), etc. Badger (bandicoot), Hart (male deer). 6. Surnames that people did not need at first but later acquired due to need. For example, the maids who left the palace and the king's entourage became common people overnight. They found that they needed a surname of their own, so they chose a surname. Such surnames have a pleasant sound or are only used as an appendix to a person's name, so it is difficult for descendants to make any inferences about their ancestors.
7. Sometimes colors also become people’s surnames. A person with red hair might be called Tom Red. But sometimes the names that have been handed down for a long time will change. Tom Read or Reade may be a descendant of Tom Red. A man who lived near the village green might be called Tom Green. There are also white and black.
8. The names of characters in the Bible and the names of saints in Christianity are also important sources of English surnames. Such as James, John, Michael, Ellis, Elliot.
In addition, the names of saints such as Martin, Gregory, Lawrence and Vincent are now very common surnames.
9. Name the surname based on physical characteristics, such as: Arm strong (superhuman arm strength), Longfellow (tall).
10. Use ethnic names as surnames: such as Angles, German, Welsh, etc.
11. Take natural phenomena as surnames. Such as: Frost, Rain, Show, etc.
12. Take a plant as your surname. Such as: Flower, Rose, etc.
13. Use the names of human body parts as surnames. Such as Arms (arm), Foot (foot), Temple (temple), etc.
14. Use the name of a weapon, utensil or currency as the surname. Such as Sword (sword), Pike (spear), Coffin (coffin), Lever (lever), Pound (pound), etc.
15. Take the official rank as the surname. Such as Judge, King, Marshall, etc. The number of English-speaking surnames is astonishing. According to some research, in 1974, Americans alone had as many as 1.28 million surnames, one-third of which were single surnames. There are also 35,000 surnames in the UK. Currently, there are about 3,000 common English surnames. The most common number is around 200. The top ten surnames in terms of number are: Smith, Jones, Williams, Brown, Davis, Johnson, Anderson, Taylor, Thom and Evans. The population with these top ten surnames accounts for about half of the English-speaking population.