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According to this article by Suzanne McVetty on Last-Names.net, surnames are a relatively new phenomenon. For thousands of years, there was simply no need. Folks rarely traveled, there were far fewer people around, and everyone pretty much knew everyone anyway. Why bother with the name "William Smith" when you're the only William in town? Of course, times change. As populations grew, surnames came about "in order to legally distinguish two individuals with the same given name." Last-Names.net explains that different cultures adopted surnames at different times. The Romans were among the first to use them. Later, the Irish began using surnames, too. Originally surnames
were based on either people's locations, occupations, descriptive nicknames, or their fathers' names. For example, in Ireland, parents might have called their son "Donald O'Brien." The "O" would have represented that Donald is the grandson of Brien. These days, tracking down the origin and/or meaning of last names is a lot more complicated, but Last-Names.net, blurtit, and Yahoo! Answers are some places to start. Happy hunting!
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