Where do we get our surnames from?

Question:

Where do we get our surnames from?

Surely some names must have been made up at some point. Like drinkwater and winterbottom. They can have been because someone was named after their father/grandfather because who has the first name Drinkwater?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: last names are mostly created from back in the day (hundreds of years ago) someone creating a nickname for your great ansestor. A name like Drinkwater would be because your ancestor really enjoyed drinking water or could drink a lot of water and people gave them that nickname which eventually became their last name.