How can I know the surname is men or women?

Question:

How can I know the surname is men or women?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I don't know of any cultures other than Swedish or some Russians who identify gender by surname.

Here's a good explanation derived from http://www.algonet.se/~hogman/naming%20p...

The fathers' first name was used as a part of his children's surname. For an example, if a man called Anders Johansson had a son named Karl and a daughter named Karin the childrens' full names would be: Karl Andersson and Karin Andersdotter. Son = son and dotter = daughter.

Karl was a son of Anders - Anders's son and Karin was a daughter of Anders - Anders's dotter.

That's why there is a double "ss" in Swedish "-son" names, Anders's son, or in Swedish; Anders son = Andersson. And, to take the patronymic naming to the next generation, if Karl Andersson had a son called Peter, then his full name would be Peter Karlsson.

When a man and a woman got married the woman never adopted her husband??s patronymic name - a name ending with "son". A woman could never be someone's son.

Patronymic surnames were in constant use in rural Sweden and among day laborers in urban centers until the 1860's. At that time it became popular among these groups to adopt a family surname carried from one generation to the next.

So nowadays, I don't think you'll have success with this as a distinction tool.