Editing Surname (section)

==History==
===Origin===
While the use of given names to identify individuals is attested in the oldest historical records, the advent of surnames is relatively recent.<ref name="Doll1992">{{Cite news|last=Doll|first=Cynthia Blevins|year=1992|title=Harmonizing Filial and Parental Rights in Names: Progress, Pitfalls, and Constitutional Problems|volume=35|page=227|work=Howard Law Journal|publisher=Howard University School of Law|issn=0018-6813}} ''Content available by subscription only. The first page of content is available via [https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=info:LBmZUSt6tbgJ:scholar.google.com/&hl=en&lr=&output=viewport&shm=1&pg=1 Google Scholar]''.</ref> Many cultures have used and continue to use additional descriptive terms in identifying individuals. These terms may indicate personal attributes, location of origin, occupation, parentage, patronage, adoption, or clan affiliation.<ref name="e082">{{cite web|last=Lederer|first=Richard|title=Our last names reveal a lot about our labor days|website=San Diego Union-Tribune|date=5 September 2015|url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-last-names-english-language-lederer-2015sep05-story.html|access-date=2024-06-02}}</ref>

In China, according to legend, family names started with Emperor [[Fuxi|Fu Xi]] in 2000 BC.<ref name="Danesi2007">{{Cite book|last=Danesi|first=Marcel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=as6_qARSebIC|title=The Quest for Meaning|publisher=University of Toronto Press|year=2007|isbn=978-0-8020-9514-5|page=48|access-date=21 September 2008}}</ref> His administration standardised the naming system to facilitate census-taking, and the use of census information. Originally, [[Chinese surname]]s were derived matrilineally,<ref name="naming">{{cite web|url-status=dead|website=Berkeley Linguistics|date=2004|url=http://www.linguistics.berkeley.edu/~rosemary/55-2004-names.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519142616/http://www.linguistics.berkeley.edu/~rosemary/55-2004-names.pdf|archive-date=19 May 2011|title=Naming practices|at=Chinese naming practices (Mak et al., 2003)}}</ref> although by the time of the [[Shang dynasty]] (1600 to 1046 BC) they had become patrilineal.<ref name="naming" /><ref name="Zhimin">{{Cite journal|last=Zhimin|first=An|year=1988|title=Archaeological Research on Neolithic China|journal=Current Anthropology|volume=29|issue=5|pages=753–759 [755, 758]|doi=10.1086/203698|jstor=2743616|s2cid=144920735}}</ref> Chinese women do not change their names upon marriage.<ref name="q448">{{cite book|last=Ch'ien|first=E.N.M.|title=Weird English|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=2005|isbn=978-0-674-02953-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fx6o5NXOLoQC&pg=PA310|access-date=2024-06-02|page=310}}</ref> In China, surnames have been the norm since at least the 2nd century BC.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Koon|first=Wee Kek|date=18 November 2016|title=The complex origins of Chinese names demystified|url=http://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/2046955/complex-origins-chinese-names-demystified|magazine=Post Magazine|access-date=3 October 2017|archive-date=4 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171004035355/http://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/2046955/complex-origins-chinese-names-demystified|url-status=live}}</ref> 

In the early [[Islamic]] period (640–900 AD) the use of [[patronymics]] is well attested. The famous scholar [[Rhazes]] ({{circa|865–925 AD}}) is referred to as "al-Razi" (lit. the one from Ray) due to his origins from the city of [[Ray, Iran|Ray]], Iran. In the [[Levant]], surnames were in use as early as the [[High Middle Ages]] and it was common for people to derive their surname from a distant ancestor, and historically the surname would be often preceded with 'ibn' or 'son of'. Arab family names often denote either one's [[tribe]], [[profession]], a famous ancestor, or the place of origin; but they were not universal. For example, [[Hunayn ibn Ishaq]] (fl. 850 AD) was known by the nisbah "al-'Ibadi", a federation of Arab Christian tribes that lived in [[Mesopotamia]] prior to the advent of [[Islam]].

In Ancient Greece, as far back as the [[Archaic Greece|Archaic Period]] clan names and [[patronymic]]s ("son of") were also common, as in [[Aristides]] as Λῡσῐμᾰ́χου – a genitive singular form meaning son of Lysimachus. For example, [[Alexander the Great]] was known as [[Heracleidae|''Heracleides'']], as a supposed descendant of [[Heracles]], and by the dynastic name [[Caranus of Macedon|''Karanos''/''Caranus'']], which referred to the founder of the [[Argead dynasty|dynasty to which he belonged]]. These patronymics are already attested for many characters in the works of [[Homer]]. At other times formal identification commonly included the place of origin.<ref name="Gill2008">{{Cite book|url=http://ancienthistory.about.com/|title=About Ancient / Classical History|publisher=The New York Times Company|editor-last=Gill|editor-first=N.S.|chapter=Ancient Names – Greek and Roman Names|chapter-url=http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/nameetymologies/p/AncientNames.htm|access-date=13 May 2016|archive-date=28 November 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071128112818/http://ancienthistory.about.com/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Over the course of the Roman Republic and the later Empire, naming conventions went through multiple changes. (''See [[Roman naming conventions]].'') The [[Nomen gentilicium|''nomen'']], the name of the [[gens]] (tribe) inherited patrilineally, is thought to have already been in use by 650 BC.<ref name="Salway">[[Benet Salway]], "What's in a Name? A Survey of Roman Onomastic Practice from c. 700 B.C. to A.D. 700", in ''[[Journal of Roman Studies]]'', vol. 84, pp. 124–145 (1994).</ref> The ''nomen'' was to identify group kinship, while the ''[[praenomen]]'' (forename; plural ''praenomina'') was used to distinguish individuals within the group. Female ''praenomina'' were less common, as women had reduced public influence, and were commonly known by the feminine form of the ''nomen'' alone.

===Medieval era and beyond===
Later with the gradual influence of Greek and [[Christian culture]] throughout the Empire, Christian religious names were sometimes put in front of traditional ''cognomina'', but eventually people reverted to single names.<ref name="Chavez2006">{{Cite web|last=Chavez|first=Berret|date=9 November 2006|title=Personal Names of the Aristocracy in the Roman Empire During the Later Byzantine Era|url=http://heraldry.sca.org/laurel/names/byzantine/introduction.html|access-date=21 September 2008|website=Official Web Page of the Laurel Sovereign of Arms for the Society for Creative Anachronism|publisher=Society for Creative Anachronism|archive-date=16 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080916180738/http://heraldry.sca.org/laurel/names/byzantine/introduction.html|url-status=live}}</ref> By the time of the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, family names were uncommon in the [[Eastern Roman Empire]]. In Western Europe, where Germanic culture dominated the aristocracy, family names were almost non-existent. They would not significantly reappear again in Eastern Roman society until the 10th century, apparently influenced by the familial affiliations of the Armenian military aristocracy.<ref name="Chavez2006"/> The practice of using family names spread through the Eastern Roman Empire, however it was not until the 11th century that surnames came to be used in West Europe.<ref name="j891">{{cite book|last=Kennett|first=D.|title=The Surnames Handbook: A Guide to Family Name Research in the 21st Century|publisher=History Press|year=2012|isbn=978-0-7524-8349-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_8UTDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT19|access-date=2024-06-02|page=19-20}}</ref>

Medieval Spain used a patronymic system. For example, Álvaro, a son of Rodrigo, would be named Álvaro Rodríguez. His son, Juan, would not be named Juan Rodríguez, but Juan Álvarez. Over time, many of these patronymics became family names, and they are some of the most common names in the Spanish-speaking world today. Other sources of surnames are personal appearance or habit, e.g. Delgado ("thin") and Moreno ("dark"); geographic location or ethnicity, e.g. Alemán ("German"); and occupations, e.g. Molinero ("miller"), Zapatero ("shoe-maker") and Guerrero ("warrior"), although occupational names are much more often found in a shortened form referring to the trade itself, e.g. Molina ("mill"), Guerra ("war"), or Zapata (archaic form of ''zapato'', "shoe").<ref>{{Cite web|title=What is the origin of the last name Molina?|url=https://www.last-names.net/lastname/molina/|access-date=2023-08-01|website=Last Name Meanings|language=en-US|archive-date=1 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230801151148/https://www.last-names.net/lastname/molina/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In England the introduction of family names is generally attributed to the preparation of the [[Domesday Book]] in 1086, following the [[Norman Conquest]]. Evidence indicates that surnames were first adopted among the feudal nobility and gentry, and slowly spread to other parts of society. Some of the early Norman nobility who arrived in England during the Norman conquest differentiated themselves by affixing 'de' (of) before the name of their village in France. This is what is known as a territorial surname, a consequence of feudal landownership. By the 14th century, most [[English surnames|English]] and most [[Scottish surnames|Scottish]] people used surnames and in Wales following unification under Henry VIII in 1536.<ref name="bbc.co.uk">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/familyhistory/get_started/surnames_01.shtml#:~:text=Over%20time%20many%20names%20became,and%20to%20get%20passed%20on.|title=BBC – Family History – What's in a Name? Your Link to the Past|access-date=17 May 2022|archive-date=17 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517182045/https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/familyhistory/get_started/surnames_01.shtml#:~:text=Over%20time%20many%20names%20became,and%20to%20get%20passed%20on.|url-status=live}}</ref>

A four-year study led by the [[University of the West of England]], which concluded in 2016, analysed sources dating from the 11th to the 19th century to explain the origins of the surnames in the [[British Isles]].<ref name="Origin study">{{Cite news|date=17 November 2016|title=Most common surnames in Britain and Ireland revealed|agency=BBC|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-38003201|access-date=21 July 2018|archive-date=2 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181102104217/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-38003201|url-status=live}}</ref> The study found that over 90% of the 45,602 surnames in the dictionary are native to Britain and Ireland, with the most common in the UK being [[Smith (surname)|Smith]], [[Jones (surname)|Jones]], [[Williams (surname)|Williams]], [[Brown (surname)|Brown]], [[Taylor (surname)|Taylor]], [[Davies]], and [[Wilson (name)|Wilson]].<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Hanks|first1=Patrick|url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199677764.001.0001/acref-9780199677764|title=The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland|last2=Coates|first2=Richard|last3=McClure|first3=Peter|date=17 November 2016|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-967776-4|language=en-US|doi=10.1093/acref/9780199677764.001.0001|access-date=1 March 2020|archive-date=26 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200526105824/https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199677764.001.0001/acref-9780199677764|url-status=live}}</ref> The findings have been published in the ''Oxford English Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland'', with project leader Richard Coates calling the study "more detailed and accurate" than those before.<ref name="Origin study" /> He elaborated on the origins: "Some surnames have origins that are occupational – obvious examples are Smith and Baker. Other names can be [[Toponymic surname|linked to a place]], for example, Hill or Green, which relates to a [[village green]]. Surnames that are 'patronymic' are those which originally enshrined the father's name – such as [[Jackson (name)|Jackson]], or [[Jenkinson]]. There are also names where the origin describes the original bearer such as Brown, [[Short stature|Short]], or Thin – though Short may in fact be an ironic 'nickname' surname for a tall person."<ref name="Origin study"/>

In the modern era, governments have enacted laws to require people to adopt surnames. This served the purpose of uniquely identifying subjects for taxation purposes or for inheritance.{{sfn|Kennett|2012|p=20}} In the late [[Middle Ages]] in England, mandatory surnames were resisted as they were associated with taxes.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Anderson|first1=Raymond A.|title=Credit Intelligence and Modelling: Many Paths Through the Forest of Credit Rating and Scoring|date=2022|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-284419-4|page=193-194|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=04lNEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA193|language=en}}</ref>

===Modern era===
During the modern era many cultures around the world adopted family names, particularly for administrative reasons, especially during the age of European expansion and particularly since 1600. The Napoleonic Code, adopted in various parts of Europe, stipulated that people should be known by both their given name(s) and a family name that would not change across generations. Other notable examples include the Netherlands (1795–1811), Japan (1870s), Thailand (1920), and Turkey (1934). The structure of the [[Japanese name]] was formalized by the government as ''family name'' + ''given name'' in 1868.<ref>Nagata, Mary Louise. "Names and Name Changing in Early Modern Kyoto, Japan." ''International Review of Social History'' 07/2002; 47(02):243 – 259. P. 246.</ref> <!-- Not verified; simply copied from "[[Japanese name]]" - Lembit Staan -->

In Breslau Prussia enacted the Hoym Ordinance in 1790, mandating the adoption of Jewish surnames.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1= |first1= |year=1790 |orig-date= |orig-year= |location= |title=Schlesischen Provinzialblättern 12 |script-title= |trans-title=Silesian Provincial Papers |magazine=St. 7 |series= |language=de |volume= |issue= |edition= |publication-place= |publisher= |publication-date= |page= |pages=52–61 |at= |no-pp= }}</ref><ref name="o738">{{cite book|last=Ury|first=S.|title=Barricades and Banners: The Revolution of 1905 and the Transformation of Warsaw Jewry|publisher=Stanford University Press|series=Stanford Studies in Jewish History and Culture|year=2012|isbn=978-0-8047-8104-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1_W-DuzHlAEC&pg=PA32|access-date=2024-06-02|page=32}}</ref> Napoleon also insisted on Jews adopting fixed names in a decree issued in 1808.<ref name="r467">{{cite journal|last1=Scott|first1=James C.|last2=Tehranian|first2=John|last3=Mathias|first3=Jeremy|title=The Production of Legal Identities Proper to States: The Case of the Permanent Family Surname|journal=Comparative Studies in Society and History|publisher=Cambridge University Press|volume=44|issue=1|year=2002|issn=0010-4175|jstor=3879399|pages=4–44|doi=10.1017/S0010417502000026 |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/3879399|access-date=2024-06-02}}</ref>

Names can sometimes be changed to protect individual privacy (such as in [[witness protection]]), or in cases where groups of people are escaping persecution.<ref name="x631">{{cite book|last=Ahmed|first=S.R.|title=Preventing Identity Crime: Identity Theft and Identity Fraud: An Identity Crime Model and Legislative Analysis with Recommendations for Preventing Identity Crime|publisher=Brill|year=2020|isbn=978-90-04-39597-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DPPcDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA39|access-date=2024-06-02|page=39}}</ref> After arriving in the United States, European Jews who fled Nazi persecution sometimes [[anglicization|anglicized]] their surnames to avoid discrimination.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Holton|first1=G.|last2=Sonnert|first2=G.|title=What Happened to the Children Who Fled Nazi Persecution|date=25 December 2006|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-0-230-60179-6|page=96|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xAeMDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA96|language=en}}</ref> Governments can also forcibly change people's names, as when the [[National Socialist]] government of Germany assigned German names to European people in the territories they conquered.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lemkin|first1=Raphael|title=Axis Rule in Occupied Europe: Laws of Occupation, Analysis of Government, Proposals for Redress|date=2014|publisher=The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd.|isbn=978-1-58477-576-8|page=82|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ChhmqYeVS80C&pg=PA82|language=en}}</ref> In the 1980s, the [[People's Republic of Bulgaria]] forcibly changed the first and last names of its [[Turks in Bulgaria|Turkish citizens]] to Bulgarian names.<ref name="i395">{{cite book|last=Neuburger|first=M.C.|title=The Orient Within: Muslim Minorities and the Negotiation of Nationhood in Modern Bulgaria|publisher=Cornell University Press|year=2011|isbn=978-1-5017-2023-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hf6tDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA77|access-date=2024-06-02|page=77}}</ref>