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In Western culture, nearly all individuals possess at least one given name (also known as a first name, forename, or Christian name), together with a surname (also known as a last name or family name). In the name "James Smith", for example, James is the first name and Smith is the surname.
A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name [1] that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a family or clan) who have a common surname. The term given name refers to a name usually bestowed at or close to ...
A surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. [ 1 ][ 2 ] It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several given names and surnames are possible in the full name.
This shows a structure typical for English-speaking cultures (and some others). Other cultures use other structures for full names. In various cultures, a middle name is a portion of a personal name that is written between a person's given name and surname. [ 1 ][ 2 ] A middle name is often abbreviated and is then called middle initial or just ...
Unambiguous last names are usually redirects: for example, Ludwig van Beethoven is the title of an article, while Van Beethoven and Beethoven redirect to that article. Similarly, don't use a first name (even if unambiguous) for an article title if the last name is known and fairly often used.
Spanish naming customs. Spanish names are the traditional way of identifying, and the official way of registering, a person in Spain. They are composed of a given name (simple or composite [a]) and two surnames (the first surname of each parent). Traditionally, the first surname is the father's first surname, and the second is the mother's ...
For ease of use, the [i] in front of the last name, and the ending _ve, were dropped. If the last name ends in [a], then removing the [j] would give the name of the patriarch or the place, as in, Grudaj - j = Gruda (place in MM). Otherwise, removing the whole ending [aj] yields the name of founder or place of origin, as in Lekaj - aj = Lek(ë).
History. [edit] Ancient Greeks generally had a single name, often qualified with a patronymic, a clan or tribe, or a place of origin. Married women were identified by the name of their husbands, not their fathers. Hereditary family names or surnames began to be used by elites in the Byzantine period. Well into the 9th century, they were rare.