Links for Discovering the Meaning and Origin of Your Last Name
Use these carefully selected links to explore your first and last names
How did the Use of Last Names (Surnames) Arise?
The use of last names (surnames) began about 800 years ago when commerce and technology allowed for small hamlets to grow into villages and eventually cities. Once there was more than one Thomas, Frederick, Francois or Dimitri who lived near one another, surnames were added denoting various things:
The use of last names (surnames) began about 800 years ago when commerce and technology allowed for small hamlets to grow into villages and eventually cities. Once there was more than one Thomas, Frederick, Francois or Dimitri who lived near one another, surnames were added denoting various things:
- lineage (Anderson, Larsdotter, MacDonald, Fitzpatrick),
- occupation (Baker, Miller, Wheelwright, Cooper, Schumacher),
- appearance or characteristics (Small, Young, Goodsinger),
- location (Fields, Waters, Hill, von Furst)
- How to Find the Origins of Last Names (WikiHow)
- Discover the Meaning & History behind your Last Name (Ancestry.com)
- Search Meanings of Last or First Names (Baby Names)
- What does your name mean? (the Surname Data Base)