Of course, names change in popularity. Is this the case in any other nation? Welsh habit of naming themselves after their father. Indeed, in November 2006, a new world record was established for a gathering of the most people with the same surname russian surnames marriage 1,224 people called Jones gathered at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff.
In Scotland, Donald is very common. Male first names usually end in -os, -as or -is – for instance, Pavlos, Andreas, Haris. There is a tradition that first-born sons are given the name of the father’s father, and first-born daughters are given the name of the mother’s mother. In Greece, one given name is the norm and therefore middle names are rare. Papadopoulou would literally mean “of Papadopoulos”. Less common, irregular endings, still drop the -s for females. For example, a woman whose father is called Nikos Makis might be called Maria Maki, without the -s.
When women get married, they change to their husband’s surname. Germany has strict rules governing the naming of children. Parents have to choose from a list of court-approved names to prevent a child from becoming a victim of ridicule or confusion. The names Hitler and Stalin are banned for instance. Compared to the situation in the Anglo-Saxon countries, there is much more fluidity in the choice of names in the Czech Republic, perhaps as a result of the ‘modernisation’ of the country following the collapse of communism. While Tereza has been the most popular girls name for 11 years now, Jakub has only been the top boys name for two years. For a man, this takes the form of the suffix ‘-ovich’, so someone whose father is called Ivan would have the second name Ivanovich.
Firstly, for all the ethnic diversity of the USA, both these lists are remarkably Anglo-Saxon. None of the boys’ names except Mason would be out of place in the UK and, of the girls’ names, only Madison would look slightly odd in Britain where it is gaining in popularity. Hawaii is part of the United States, but the naming practices on the islands are totally different from that of the mainland USA. Most names are not particular to one gender and often one name is added to another to create long, polysyllabic names. Instead, in many cases, they simply add their father’s first name and possibly grandfather’s first name and maybe even great-grandfather’s first name to their own first name. Even names which occur only once in the Bible – for example, Medad and Eldad – can become popular. I mean, how on earth do you pronounce ‘Fuschiea’.
Please e-mail me and let me know and I will add the information to this essay. Jump to navigation Jump to search “Last name” redirects here. Not to be confused with Suriname. Other cultures use other structures for full names.
Depending on the culture, all members of a family unit may have identical surnames or there may be variations based on the cultural rules. In the English-speaking world, a surname is commonly referred to as a last name because it is usually placed at the end of a person’s full name, after any given names. In many parts of Asia, as well as some parts of Europe and Africa, the family name is placed before a person’s given name. Surnames have not always existed and today are not universal in all cultures.
This tradition has arisen separately in different cultures around the world. In Europe, the concept of surnames became popular in the Roman Empire and expanded throughout the Mediterranean and Western Europe as a result. During the Middle Ages this practice died out as Germanic, Persian, and other influences took hold. A family name is typically a part of a person’s personal name which, according to law or custom, is passed or given to children from one or both of their parents’ family names. The use of family names is common in most cultures around the world, with each culture having its own rules as to how these names are formed, passed and used. Surname laws vary around the world. Traditionally in many European countries for the past few hundred years, it was the custom or law that a woman would on marriage use the surname of her husband and that children of a man would have the father’s surname.
