Last Names In Western Civilization

The History of Surnames throughout Western Civilization There have been hundreds of thousands of different last names in the world and each one has a meaning. Surnames or “family names” or “last names” were used as far back as Aethelred, the son of Edgar, the king. His name was Aoalroar Jatgerisson. While a small number of nobles and people of the wealthier class had hereditary surnames, it was not until the Norman Conquest of 1066 that the common folk began to trace their kinships as well. The Normans introduced the English not only to last names but to the creation of last names as well. The Normans came up with last names many different ways: a person’s hair color, a person’s job, where one lived, or who they were related to. This was all first recorded by the King who was in charge during the time of the Norman Conquest, King William. Citation- Between 1085 and 1086, the “earliest public record” came about, the Domesday Book. The book’s name came from the native Englishmen, after God’s final day of judgment. The book took everything into account. It was sectioned off by province and then by person. A few things written down were a person’s name, the name of their estate, the type of land, and even how many plows were held by the lord. Citation- Domesday There are many different ways to

With names such as Harris or Hughes, people would slightly change and shorten their own names, leading the pronunciation and spelling of their surnames to evolve and change into new names. The meaning of words in our own language also changed. The last name Banker is not an occupational surname like it appears, but instead it is a locational or descriptive one. The intended meaning of Banker was “dweller on a hillside” quoted citation instead of today’s meaning of someone who would have worked at a bank. Other names were misunderstood as people moved from one place to another. In a different language, last names are pronounced differently