Question on Surnames in General
Who was it that started the system of using surnames? I've always thought it to be the Anglo-Saxons, but whoever it was, what motivated them into deciding to use them?
vote up1vote down

Replies

The story I heard was that before surnames, people would tell two people with the same name apart by a characteristic or their professiong. So you might have Thomas, Peter's son and Thomas the Baker. Eventually, 'the' was dropped and Peter's son became Peterson. Especially with traits or professions that would pass down to children, the labels became surnames.
vote up1vote down