Where did surnames originate?
There are generally three origins where virtually every family name started: 1. Patronymics You may have guessed that the name ERICSON started with someone who was the son of Eric. This is called a patronymic, and was commonly used in some parts of the world (such as Scandinavia) as recently as the late 18th century. Other examples of patronymics and some regions they are associated with include: • Fitzhenry, Fitzhugh, Fitzwilliam (English, Anglo-Norman) • McArthur, MacArthur (Irish, Scottish) • O’Reilly, O’Connor (Irish) • diAngelo, d’Angelo (Italian) • Abramowicz, Pascowicz (Polish) 2. Social association It can be easy to identify some surnames that came from social class or occupation, but others might not be as easy to detect. Keep in mind the following examples can be translated to names in other languages as well. • Carpenter, Taylor, and Brewer are self explanatory. • Smith: metal worker, often a blacksmith • Aurell: goldsmith (from Latin, “aurum”) 3. Geography and places It has
