Why is it in family names...?

Question:

Why is it in family names...?

When a child is named after his father he becomes for example John Junior, but it isnt the same if a child is named after the mother? As you never hear of a female being either Janet Senior/Junior.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: It's a matter of legally identifying someone for property ownership and inheritance.

Since men owned property, or were the executors for their widowed mother or unmarried sister, it was important that 'John son of John', and his first cousin, 'John son of George', were identified as separate people in legal documents and with creidtors.

It was important that three generations of a family -- John Sr, John Jr and John III -- were not confused when all were alive at the same time and owning property near each other.

However, this system was NOT the same in all times and places. In the New England area of the USA, there could be a John Sr and John Jr who are *not* related but who the clerk designated that way to keep them separated in the official records. Over time, when John Sr died and John Jr's son came of age, the suffixes could shift a generation, causing wonderful genealogical confusion.