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This is really an anthropology question, but since there's no SE anthro forum and I already am a member of this forum, I'll ask it here.

What is the probability that a male is (I don't use "man" because the practice starts in high school) called by his first name or last name by his friends in given what generation he's in? How about women?

To make this question feasible, it's limited to baby boomers and later.

In my (Gen-X) experience, the first name/ last name classification doesn't change with age.

It's probably selection bias, but the only women I know who are often referred to by their last names are elite athletes.

JenSCDC
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    I am voting this down for the very reason you've given -- it is not a language question, and the answers, moreover, will vary by region, by age, by economic class, by ethnicity, by ... – TimR Nov 17 '14 at 23:13
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    I think it's a legitimate question about language usage. – tunny Nov 17 '14 at 23:36
  • "...and the answers, moreover, will vary by region, by age, by economic class, by ethnicity, by ..." which makes it a very interesting question and is exactly why I left it so vague. Aren't you curious about the effects of those factors? – JenSCDC Nov 18 '14 at 00:34
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    This question is off-topic because it is indeed an anthropology question. – phenry Nov 18 '14 at 01:53

2 Answers2

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I don't know whether a personal-experience answer is permissible here. I'll post mine anyway. If people say it's unacceptable, I'll delete it. .

1946: Born. (I am British)
1952-1954: State primary school (mixed): First names only.
1954-1957: Private preparatory school: Surnames only, even friends I knew from state primary school.
1957-1962: Direct grant grammar school: Surnames only.
1962-1964: Sixth form, direct grant grammar school: A fairly swift change. Initially, surnames only, though first names were creeping in at social occasions. By the end, it was first names only.
1964-1967: University: First names only, though occasionally former school friends and I would greet each other jocularly on re-meeting by surname, a practice that continues to this day.
1967: A little surprised to find that academics at my (somewhat formal) university still addressed colleagues by surname.
1972: The last time I recall being addressed by surname by a colleague.
1975: An academic returning to England from five years overseas two years before told me that he had been shocked to be addressed by colleagues by his first name.

tunny
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  • My own path through life is very similar (born 1944). It was only at Grammar School - also Direct Grant (hence a bit traditional) where I was ever called by my surname. Where there were brothers in the school, were they known as major and minor? There were twins in my form, who had an older brother in the school. Hence they were known as Hoggett major, Hoggett minor, and Hoggett tertius, minor's arrival in the world having preceded that of tertius by 20 minutes. – WS2 Nov 18 '14 at 00:09
  • @WS2. Yes, we had majors and minors. What I can't remember is how they addressed each other at school. – tunny Nov 18 '14 at 00:15
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    Presumably Charlie and Bert! There was no stipulation that we could not use Christian names with one another, though in the early years we invariably used surnames. As we got older we started to call our friends by their first names. I have just recalled how the Hoggett tertius character, was for a few weeks called minimus. I think the Latin master eventually intervened to get him re-named tertius. – WS2 Nov 18 '14 at 00:22
  • Me- male born in 75 in US. Coed private school from K-12. Always first name. Wasn't exposed to last names until college. However, last names seem to be using in boys only private schools and in boarding schools. I consider the names from college to be permanent. What was I called by? A nickname, which I'm sure still would be used today. – JenSCDC Nov 18 '14 at 00:40
  • For us Yanks, what does "Direct Grant" mean? – JenSCDC Nov 18 '14 at 00:43
  • This Wikipedia article may help: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_grant_grammar_school#Direct_grant_scheme – tunny Nov 18 '14 at 01:05
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I'll keep an ongoing synopsys here.

It appears that it's British practice to start using last names earlier. Boarding school also accelerates the process.

It is not possible to conclude anything about the permanence of the name split because of differing nationalities and generations.

JenSCDC
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