A surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. A personal name is the Proper name identifying an individual Person. In many cases, a "surname" is a family name; the family-name meaning first appeared in 1375. A family name or last name is a type of Surname and part of a person's name indicating the family to which the person belongs [1] Many dictionaries use "surname" as a synonym of "family name. This article deals with the general meaning of the term "synonym" " [2]
Surnames are often influenced by common elements: the name of the person's father or mother, the person's geographical origin, the person's occupation, or a descriptive nickname for the person. A patronym, is a component of a Personal name based on the name of one's father A matronymic is a Personal name based on the name of one's mother When they were created, they answered one of the following questions: Who is this person related to? Where is this person from? What does this person do for a living? What is his or her most prominent feature?[3][4]
For instance, the names Smith and Cooper may originate from the blacksmith and cooper metal work occupations, respectively. blacksmith is a person who creates objects from Iron or Steel by Forging the Metal; i Traditionally a cooper is someone who makes Wooden staved vessels of a conical form of greater length than breadth bound Names such as Cohen, may denote a prominent religious background; Cohen is a name usually found among male descendants of Jewish priests. A kohen (or cohen, Hebrew כּהן "priest" pl כּהנִים kohanim or cohanim) has a separate status in Judaism.
References
- ^ "surname. " Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper, Historian. 10 Dec. 2007. <Dictionary. com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/surname>.
- ^ <Dictionary. com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/surname>
- ^ Scottish Surnames<http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/content/help/index.aspx?560>
- ^ <Last Names Dictionary http://www.last-names.net/Articles/Anatomy.asp>
Dictionary
surname
-noun
- A name that indicates to which family a person belongs, normally following that person’s given name(s) in Western culture, in English included, and preceding it in Eastern.
-verb
- To give a surname.
- To call by a surname.
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