When Did Last Names Start?
When did last names start? It depends on where your family comes from. Some places used fixed family names well over two thousand years ago, while others only made them standard in the last two centuries. Before that, most people had a single given name, and a second word was added only when it was needed to tell two people apart.
From descriptions to family names
The first surnames were descriptions. A man might be known by his father's name, the place he lived, the work he did or something about how he looked. At first these labels changed from one generation to the next. A last name became a true family name only once children kept their parent's surname instead of getting a new description.
When last names started in different places
- China: hereditary family names have been used for more than two thousand years, which makes them among the oldest still in use.
- England: fixed surnames spread after the Norman Conquest in the 11th century. They began with landowners and became usual for most families by the 14th and 15th centuries.
- Wales and Scandinavia: names based on the father's name, such as ap Rhys or Johansson, kept changing each generation for centuries before fixed family names took over.
- Iceland: most people still use a name formed from a parent's first name rather than an inherited surname.
- Japan: most ordinary families took surnames in the late 19th century, when the law required it.
- Turkey: family names became compulsory by law in the 1930s.
The four kinds of last names
| Kind | Based on | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Patronymic | A father's or ancestor's first name | Johnson, Williams, Davis |
| Occupational | A job or trade | Smith, Miller, Baker, Taylor |
| Locational | A place or landscape feature | Hill, Wood, Brook, Lee |
| Descriptive | A trait or nickname | Brown, Young, Little, Strong |
Many of the most common surnames in the US belong to these groups. In the Census list, Smith is the most common surname of all, shared by 2,376,206 people, followed by names such as Johnson and Williams.
When did middle names start?
Middle names were first used mostly by wealthy European families who wanted to honour relatives or link a child to an important family. In the United States they became common in the 19th century and are now given to most children.
Browse last names by letter
Questions people ask
When did people start using last names?
It varies by country: more than two thousand years ago in China, from the 11th to 15th centuries in England, and as late as the 19th and 20th centuries in places such as Japan and Turkey.
How did last names start?
Most began as descriptions based on a father's name, a place, a job or a personal trait, and later became fixed and passed down in families.
When did middle names start?
They were used by wealthy European families first and became common in the United States during the 19th century.