So, if you have a last name like Funke or Butt (at least Jake Butt is a 6’6” Michigan football player) or Chase (as in Annabeth Chase from Percy Jackson) you are probably quite curious about the “where and the why” of your last name. Have you ever asked yourself where do last names come from? Why do I even have one in the first place? Then you figure out that you have two friends with the same first name, and the only way you can tell them apart in your iPhone contacts is by their last name. One is named Lexi Smith and the other is Lexi Jones. Could you imagine wanting to share a funny picture on Instagram, but you only have the option to share with Lexi?  How many Lexi’s are there? In the 90s, every million babies included 3,274 Alexises.  Good Lord.

Last names originated in the Middle Ages and depended on what job you had. If you were a shoemaker, your last name might be Cobbler (or shoemaker, for that matter). If you were a blacksmith, your last name would probably be Sparks or Smith. Your surname could also be your parent’s first name. If your name was Bradley, and your dad’s name was Jack, your name would be Bradley Jack’s son. Which over time would become Bradley Jackson’s (like Jackson’s Bradley). Later on, people removed the apostrophe and the s, which would make you Bradley Jackson.

Last names are different in other languages. If you were from another culture or country, your surname might translate to your native terminology. For example, if someone lived by the green and their name was John, they would be called “John of the Green.” People in the town got tired of calling that person  “John of the Green,” so they simplified it to John Green. If he was Italian, it would be John Verde.

So, if I piqued your curiosity and you want to know about your last name, go to Family Education. If you want to know where your last name originated, go to My Heritage. Have fun learning about the history of your name and where you came from! I sure did.