Expert: Irulan Serena - 3/8/2005

Question
This question has been buggin for weeks.
Did the people of ancient Greece , Rome, Egypt ect have last names. I've noticed from reading books and watching movies, last names are never mentioned. Then someone told where the person is from is considered their last names for example  "Hector of troy", is this true? what if more than one person is from that location with the same name?
Hope you can help me with this question.
Thank you


Answer
Hello Casheda,

No, ancient cultures [ Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Babylonian, Sumerian, Phoenician, Carthagenian, etc.] did not use surnames as we do today.

Yes, as a defining criteria, location / place of birth was used to identify the person.  Example, Helen of Troy, or Helen of Sparta.

Ancient cultures did no use surnames or second names as the Romans did.

Ancient Roman culture did use more than one name however, these were not in the sense of a ‘surname' as we know it today.  Before the Roman Republic only first names were used, however after the beginning of the Republic, due to an increase in population the custom of using several names was establishef.

Process of naming of Male Roman Citizens during the Republic -

Praenomen  =  personal, individualizing name; given through naming ceremony

Nomen  =  name of the clan (gens) to which the man belonged; hereditary

Cognomen  =  name of the branch of the clan to which the man belonged; hereditary


Surnames, as we know them today, originated throughout Europe sometime after the fall of the Roman Empire.

In Europe, surnames began to be used in the 12th century, but it took several centuries before the majority of Europeans had one. The primary purpose of the surname was to further distinguish people from one another. In the 13th century about a third of the male population was named William, Richard or John *. To uniquely identify them, people began referring to different Williams as William the son of Andrew (leading to Anderson), William the cook (leading to Cook), William from the river (leading to Rivers), William the brown-haired (leading to Brown), and so on. Eventually these surnames became inherited, being passed from parents to children.

Broadly, most surnames fall into four categories.

1.   Surnames derived from First Names include Johnson, Williams, and Thompson. Most often they are patronymic, referring to a male ancestor, but occasionally they are metronymic.

2.   Occupational surnames refer to the occupation of the bearer. Examples include Smith, Clark, and Wright.

3.   Location or Topographic surnames are derived from the place that the bearer lived. Examples include Hill, Woods, and Ford.

4.   Surnames derived Nicknames include White, Young, and Long.

Hope this has helped you in some way,

Regards,

Irulan