Origin of Surnames
In today's civilisation, we are all named specifically in order to be known. We want to know who we really are and where our names originated from . Names are very important as they have meaning to the individual and their families. The most important type of names is the surname, they give us meaning of our family's history and origins. Our family names have changed drastically overtime, causing trouble to most of us that are searching the origins of our names.
The very first appearance of surnames was i the bible, people were named accordingly by their home, jobs, land and even their village. People in that time did not have a surname because they simply do not need them, the population of their villages are so small that all people have different first names. As the population of their villages grew, people started having surnames named by their jobs, tradition and culture.
As time goes by, our ancestors started changing their surnames. When our ancestors, in search of freedom has decided to settle in america, They changed their surnames by shortening it or changing it completely in order to feel more americanised and free. For example, "Wilhelm became William", "Jacob became James", "Olivier became Oliver".
It is important for us to know what our surnames are so we can know where our family came from and the history of our ancestors. Famous people and people who have changed the world like Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs and Tim Berner Lee are well remembered because they have changed our society. Remembering our original surnames are not as easy because the spellings and pronunciation of them has changed tremendously over the centuries. There are changed so long ago that people today have a hard time tracking down their real surname. In today;s modern society, surnames gives us our own identity and personality, and this is very important to us today
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