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 matronymic.
2. Occupational surnames refer to the occupation of the bearer. Examples include Smith, Clark, and Wright.
3. Locational or Topographic surnames are derived from the place that the bearer lived. Examples include Hill, Woods, and Ford.
4. Surnames derived from Nicknames include White, Young, and Long.

This website looks at the etymology (i.e. the linguistic origin, or meaning) and history of all types of surnames.