How do people get lastnames? How did they originate?

Question:

How do people get lastnames? How did they originate?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: It depends on the culture. Many groups use the father's last name, but some use the mother's name. And others combine the father or mothers's name with the equivalent of "the son or daughter of (father or mother's name.)" William Anderson would have orginally been William, son of Anders. A Hebrew woman might be named Devora bas Mariam, Deborah the daughter of Mary.

Last names are thought to have originated as ways to distinguish people with the same first name. Some names are physically descriptive: Robert Stout (the big Robert) as opposed to Robert Little (the small Robert.)

Others distinguish between where two people lived. Example: John Westlake (the John who lived by Western Lake) or John London (the guy who lived in that big town.) Some names describe the person's occupation: George Cooper (the man who makes barrels) or George Smith (the guy who puts the shoes on your horse.)

There are others, but those are all that I can remember from studying this in a college English class. And hey, as long as it's been since I was in college, I'm doing good to remember my OWN name! ;-)