MANY OF US PUZZLE OVER OUR NAMES AND HOW WE GOT THEM

The word surname is "name" prefixed by the French word "sur" (meaning "on"). The use of family names is not universal among all cultures. In particular Icelanders, Tibetans and Javanese often do not use a family name. In many cultures, both Eastern and Western, few families had surnames prior to the period 15th-19th century. During these times, often only aristocratic families had family names. Supposedly, all surnames of English origin fall into just four types: Occupations (e.g. Smith, Baker, Archer); Personal characteristics (e.g. Short, Brown, Goodman, Whitehead); Places & geographical features (e.g. Scott, Hill, Rivers, Windsor); Ancestry, often based on a first name (e.g. Richardson, James) or — if we include surnames of Scottish origin — clan (e.g. Macdonald),

It has long been the custom for women to give up their family name (called the birth name or maiden name) upon marriage, and to use their husband's last name in its place. In many cultures, a woman's family name changes upon marriage. When this takes place, her original family name (before any marriages), typically her father's family name, is known as her maiden name. Such a woman usually adopts her husband's family name; any children as a result of the union also take this family name. This is merely traditional, however — few countries mandate such a change, and many permit children to have a different family name. In any case, since most countries allow name changes, a man can also take his wife's last name upon marriage.

The five top names in the United States based on the 2000 census and population totals are: Smith (2,376,206), Johnson (1,857,160), Williams (1,534,042), Brown (1,380,145), Jones (1,362,755). The distribution reflects the history of immigration into the country. Many immigrants from non-English-speaking countries anglicized their names. Good examples of this are the popular Swedish name Johansson which was frequently changed to Johnson, and the German Müller which became Miller. The name Smith also became even more frequent because of some Polish immigrants who anglicized the name "Kowalski" to become "Smith".

Slavery also had an effect; names such as Jackson, Harris, Davis, Brown, and Jones are common among African Americans, since slaves tended to be given, or adopt, their owners' surnames. Ranking of García (#9) and Martínez (#11) of course represent the rapid growth of several Hispanic communities in the United States as very common names in most Spanish-speaking countries. Another surprise was the Vietnamese surname "Nguyen" that made a dramatic leap from 229th position in 1990 to 57th in 2000. With our ever-changing world economy, who knows what names will move higher on the list in 50 years.