A surname is most commonly defined as a synonym for last name or family name in English.
A surname is most commonly defined as a synonym for last name or family name in English.
Questions tagged [surnames]
87 questions
5
votes
2 answers
Suffix -smith in surnames
I recall reading once that the "smith" in some surnames stood for something like "the one who works with". For example: Coppersmith, the one who works with copper or deals with copper; Wordsmith has to with an individual that make a living by…
Jamai-Con
- 183
3
votes
2 answers
How to abbreviate "deLuze"
Possible Duplicate:
How would you abbreviate surnames starting with Mc/O/D?
How would I abbreviate Jane deLuze?
If I were listing a numbe of people by initials, like John Doe or John Smith, I could use JD, JS etc.... but how would I do deLuze?
Jeff
- 31
1
vote
1 answer
How to deal with changed surnames
I am working on a history of pioneering tradeswomen in which several women's last names change during the two-decade time period. What is the best way to deal with this? Should I include both names at the outset? Explain the new last name when first…
H. Gilbert
- 13
0
votes
1 answer
Need help with a company's name that involves a surname
If it's a trading company's name which one is correct?
LEE TRADING or LEE'S TRADING
Where Lee is a Chinese surname.
nana
- 1
0
votes
1 answer
What is the term for using an ancestral given name as a surname?
This is NOT a question about people who have surnames that are usually found as given names, such as Rand Paul.
My question relates to the process of Americanization of surnames. For example, I have done genealogical research about descendants of…
0
votes
1 answer
Referring to people by surname
I notice that there is a tradition in English of shortening names by omitting given names, which has been formalized in contexts like academia (the theorem of Gauss, the textbook by Young and Geller, citation rules) and law (the firm Baker &…
xuanji
- 109
-2
votes
2 answers
Why do Football players prefer to use their family name?
I read that in Western countries, people prefer their first name over their family name, that is why they put their first name first, in form first name + family name For example Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, ...
This is contradicts with Eastern…
onmyway133
- 127