What’s in a name? If we’re talking about your surname, the answer is: a whole lot of history. Your last name is more than just a label; it’s a linguistic fossil, a tiny time capsule carrying clues about where your ancestors came from, what they did for a living, who their father was, or even what they looked like. It’s a direct connection to a moment in time when society grew so complex that we needed a way to tell one John from another.

The study of names, both first and last, is a fascinating field of linguistics called onomastics. For surnames, this study reveals that most European-derived last names solidified between the 11th and 16th centuries. Before that, most people just had one name. But as populations grew, a second name—a surname—became a necessity for record-keeping, taxation, and inheritance.

These names weren’t chosen at random. They were profoundly practical and almost always fall into one of four main categories. Let’s peel back the layers and discover the story your own name might be telling.

The Job You Did: Occupational Surnames

Perhaps the most straightforward category of surnames is occupational. In a small medieval village, what better way to identify someone than by their trade? These names are a snapshot of a pre-industrial world, a world of artisans and farmers.

The most common surname in the English-speaking world, Smith, is the perfect example. It didn’t just refer to any smith, but specifically a blacksmith—a vital member of any community who worked with iron. The prevalence of the name speaks to the importance of the trade. But Smith is just the beginning:

• Baker: A maker of bread.
• Cooper: A craftsman who made wooden barrels and casks.
• Wright: An Old English word for a craftsman, often seen in compounds like Cartwright (cart maker) or Wainwright (wagon maker).
• Taylor: A tailor who made and altered clothes.
• Clark: From “clerk”, referring to a clergyman, scholar, or scribe.
• Fletcher: A maker of arrows (from the French flèche).

This pattern is not unique to English. The same logic applied across Europe. Germany’s most common surname is Müller (Miller), followed closely by Schmidt (Smith) and Schneider (Taylor). In Poland, one of the most common names is Kowalski, derived from kowal, the Polish word for smith. Italy has Ferrari, from ferraro, the local word for a blacksmith. If your name is an occupation, you have a clear link to the profession of a distant ancestor.

Who’s Your Daddy?: Patronymic Surnames

Patronymics, names derived from a father’s given name, are another massive category. The formula is simple: “son of [father’s name]”. The linguistic markers for “son of”, however, vary wonderfully across cultures, creating a rich tapestry of names.

In English, the most common suffix is, unsurprisingly, -son. Johnson is “John’s son”, Richardson is “Richard’s son”, and so on. But other cultures had their own distinct prefixes and suffixes:

• Irish & Scottish Gaelic: The prefixes Mac- or Mc- mean “son of”. MacDonald is the “son of Donald”. The prefix O’- means “grandson of” or “descendant of”, as in O’Malley (“descendant of Malley”).
• Norman French: The prefix Fitz- comes from the Norman French fils de, meaning “son of”. Names like Fitzgerald (“son of Gerald”) or Fitzwilliam (“son of William”) are hallmarks of the Norman influence in Britain and Ireland.
• Welsh: Welsh used ap or ab for “son of”. Over time, these often fused with the father’s name. For example, ap Hywel became Powell, ap Rhys became Price, and ap Evan became Evans.
• Scandinavian: Danish and Norwegian names often end in -sen (Andersen, Nielsen), while Swedish names typically use -sson (Andersson, Svensson). Historically, these were true patronymics, changing with each generation until the practice was frozen in the 19th century.
• Slavic: Suffixes like -vic, -wicz, or -vych mean “son of” in many Slavic languages. Think of Petrovic (“son of Peter”). Other suffixes like -ov or -ev (Ivanov, “of Ivan”) serve a similar possessive function.

Where You Lived: Locational Surnames

If you weren’t known by your job or your father, you were likely known by where you lived. These locational, or toponymic, surnames could refer to a specific town or, more commonly, a feature of the landscape.

Think of the most basic geographical features, and you’ll find a corresponding surname:

• Hill: Lived on or near a hill.
• Ford: Lived near a shallow river crossing.
• Wood / Atwood: Lived in or “at the” wood.
• Brooks: Lived near a brook or stream.
• Churchill: Lived near a church on a hill.

This logic, like occupational names, is universal. In France, Dubois means “of the wood”, and Dupont means “of the bridge”. In Spain, you’ll find names like Del Rio (“of the river”). In Germany, someone living near a stream might have been named Bach. And Leonardo da Vinci? His famous name simply means “Leonardo from the town of Vinci”.

What You Looked Like: Descriptive Surnames

The final major category is arguably the most personal: names derived from nicknames. These “eker-names” (from the Old English for “also-name”) were based on a person’s physical appearance, character, or temperament.

Many are quite obvious. Surnames like Short, Long, Little, or Armstrong leave little to the imagination. Hair and complexion were also common sources:

• White, Brown, Black: These could refer to hair color or skin complexion.
• Reid or Reed: Derived from the Old English word for “red”, likely referring to a red-haired person.
• Russell: From an Old French word also meaning “red-haired”.
• Cameron: A classic Scottish name from the Gaelic cam sròn, meaning “crooked nose”.

Some described character traits, like Goodman, Wise, Hardy, or Swift. These names give us a vivid, if brief, glimpse into how an ancestor was perceived by their community.

How to Decode Your Own Name

So, how do you start uncovering the story in your name? Here are a few steps:

1. Say it Aloud. Does it sound like an object, place, or job? Sometimes the modern spelling obscures an obvious origin.
2. Identify the Language of Origin. This is the most important clue. Is your name clearly Irish (O’Brien), Polish (Nowak), Italian (Rossi), or German (Wagner)? Knowing the source language is half the battle. Websites like Ancestry.com or Forebears.io have fantastic surname distribution maps and etymological guides.
3. Look for Prefixes and Suffixes. As we’ve seen, markers like Mac-, O’-, -son, -sen, -ski, and Fitz- are dead giveaways for patronymic origins.
4. Consider Spelling Variations. Remember that for centuries, names were spelled phonetically. A clerk wrote down what they heard. That’s why Smith can also be Smyth or Smithe, and Reid can be Read or Reed. Don’t get stuck on the exact modern spelling.

Your last name is the first chapter of your family’s story. It is a gift from the past, a word that has survived centuries of change to connect you to a specific person, a specific place, and a specific culture. It’s not just a name—it’s an identity, etched in language.