Family Tree Template: Surname Meanings

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Surname Meanings

A surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name. Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name". In some Western world countries, it is commonly called "last name". In all Western countries in North and South America as well as Europe, a surname is placed at the end of a person's given name. In Spain and most Spanish-speaking countries, two last names or surnames are used. In Hungary, along with China, Korea (성씨), Japan and in many other East Asian countries, the family name is placed before a person's given name.

The western style of having both a family name (surname) and a given name (forename or "Christian" name) is far from universal. In many countries it is common for ordinary people to have only one name or mononym.In some cultures, including those of most Western countries, the surname or family name ("last name") is placed after the personal or given name ("first name"). In other cultures the surname is placed first, followed by the given name or names; this is the case in Hungary, parts of Romania, South India, Sri Lanka[1] and countries in the Chinese cultural sphere including Japan, Korea, Vietnam and China.