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When did surnames start?

name.jpgQuestion

When were surnames first created and why did they stop being created?
Steve, Wallington

Answer

Name: Boo
Answer: In old times, everyone was in smaller communities and had their given jobs, so according to that job, or depending on where you live, a surname was given. When the communities got bigger, the offspring of someone was given the same surname. So new surnames ended when a formalised method of identity, such as the Doomsday Book.

Name: Ruth
Answer: The Chinese were the first to create surnames, while our surnames became fixed in the late 1800s.

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