What is Surname?

The surname has been derived from the medieval French word ‘surnom’ meaning “above-or-over name”. It is the name that is being shared among the family members. The surname is passed from the father’s name.

The tradition of giving surnames started in the 11th and 12th century AD. A surname may also be called the family name that is used for unique identification of the family. The surname also defines the origin, and country of the person. The surname keeps continues from one generation to another generation.

Example: 

Father’s name = Satish Sharma
Son’s name = Aditya Sharma
So here, surname = Sharma that gets inherited from the father’s surname

The surname can be of two types: – 

• Patronymic: Patronymic surname means that the given surname to the born baby would be the same as the last name of the father or we can also say that a son and father will share the same surname. 
• Metronymic: Metronymic surname means that the given surname to the born baby would be the same as the last name of the mother or we can also say that a son and mother will share the same surname. 

Note:- In previous days a woman after getting married acquires the surname of her husband in many countries like India, etc. But nowadays a woman keeps her surname the same after getting married as her surname was before marriage.

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