A family name, or surname, is the part of a person's name that indicates to what family he or she belongs. The use of family names is not universal throughout history. In parts of the world, they did not appear in common use until the 17th to 19th centuries, and in some cultures they are not used today. In many cultures of Asia, as well as in Hungary, the family name is typically spoken or written first when referring to an individual (see eastern order), while in most Western cultures, the family name is last, giving rise to the term last name for family name.

The word surname is name prefixed by the French word sur (meaning "on"), which derives from Latin super ("over"). In the past it was sometimes spelt sirname or sirename (suggesting that it meant "man's name" or "father's name") due to folk etymology. Although there is no reason for "sire name" to have not developed along side "sur name", and simply been replaced by it.

The use of family names varies among cultures. In particular, Icelanders, Tibetans, Burmese, and Javanese often do not use a family name — well-known people lacking a family name include U Thant (Burmese), Suharto and Sukarno (see Indonesian names). Also, many royal families do not use family names.

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Surnames - Twitter Search

@ninjamoeba I am sure that neither of them appreciated the coincendence that both their surnames signify someone of English decent.
TheJamesGlover (James Glover) Mon, 21 Dec 2009 07:11:05 -0000
@ninjamoeba I am sure that neither of them appreciated the coincendence that both their surnames signify someone of English decent.
@brianlogandales you wanna have a lovechild w taylor lautner and combine your surnames for said lovechild so you dont have to choose just 1?
ashleyobvs (ashley) Mon, 21 Dec 2009 06:28:39 -0000
@brianlogandales you wanna have a lovechild w taylor lautner and combine your surnames for said lovechild so you dont have to choose just 1?
Flawed methodology using surnames i.e.marriages&pics 2 determine fb divrsity-expect higher caliber,not sort-of-stats101http://bit.ly/6U9gGb
claudia2day (Claudia Amaris) Mon, 21 Dec 2009 06:17:55 -0000
Flawed methodology using surnames i.e.marriages&pics 2 determine fb divrsity-expect higher caliber,not sort-of-stats101http://bit.ly/6U9gGb
@ConcietedPerson oh my fuckken god you don't have to be French to use french surnames!!!!! plus a nube is a raped bastard
monsieur_sin (Edwin Quezadas) Mon, 21 Dec 2009 05:15:21 -0000
@ConcietedPerson oh my fuckken god you don't have to be French to use french surnames!!!!! plus a nube is a raped bastard
@Luvin_Lloyd_x - How many surnames you want? :P
LiamBrandreth (Liam Brandreth) Mon, 21 Dec 2009 00:44:50 -0000
@Luvin_Lloyd_x - How many surnames you want? :P
In a moment of desperation I thought it was his sister... then noticed the different surnames. Damn.
JimJamming (James Foreman) Sun, 20 Dec 2009 23:52:36 -0000
In a moment of desperation I thought it was his sister... then noticed the different surnames. Damn.

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