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First/given/forename, middle, and last/family/surname with John Fitzgerald Kennedy as example. This shows a structure typical for Anglophonic cultures (and some others). Other cultures use other structures for full names. A surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family.
In the name "James Smith", for example, James is the first name and Smith is the surname. Surnames in the West generally indicate that the individual belongs to a family, a tribe, or a clan, although the exact relationships vary: they may be given at birth, taken upon adoption, changed upon marriage , and so on.
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).
Currently in Spain, people bear a single or composite given name (nombre in Spanish) and two surnames (apellidos in Spanish).. A composite given name is composed of two (or more) single names; for example, Juan Pablo is considered not to be a first and a second forename, but a single composite forename.
To differentiate from others in the same generation with the same name, their father's first name and sometimes grandfather's first name is added. This may continue ad infinitum. [3] Outside Ethiopia, this is often mistaken for a surname or middle name but unlike European names, different generations do not have the same second or third names. [4]
Widows are conventionally entitled to retain their late husband's full names and suffixes, but divorcées do not continue to style themselves with a former husband's full name and suffix even if they retain the surname. [5] Juniors sometimes go by their first initials and "J" for Jr. regardless of middle initial.
Foreigners whose last name contains diacritics or non-English letters (e.g. Muñoz, Gößmann) may experience problems, since their names in their passports and in other documents are spelled differently (e.g., the German name Gößmann may be alternatively spelled Goessmann or Gossmann), so people not familiar with the foreign orthography may ...
Middle names constitute the mother's maiden surname; is inserted between the given name and the surname (father's surname) and almost always abbreviated signifying that it is a "middle name". For example; given the name Jose Patricio Santos. This is usually abbreviated to Jose P. Santos. The abbreviated "P" signifies it is the maternal maiden ...