Last names are inherited, so how far back did last names go? Did people initially choose their last name and then passed it down to children? Why are there so many common last names between people who aren’t related?
The original question was asked by a 6 year old, and it got me thinking about all of these other questions too.
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To answer the second part of the question about common last names – if you trace names far back enough many people likely were related at one point and as families grew, moved and grew distant they would have eventually lost touch with certain branches of the family. Think about your great-grandparents, did they have any siblings, do you know much about them or their children? It doesn’t take long for families to be separated like that.
Similarly, because of how these names were originally created (son of Ander, John the Brewer) there is a possibility for there to be a Brewer in north England and a Brewer in south England who may or may not know each other, but are known in the community by that surname.
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