How Many Family Names Do You Have? Naming Customs and Surname Diversity

[Valenman]

I use both Paternal and Maternal.

Paternal is from Aragon

and Maternal from France





Paternal is fairly common

but maternal is very uncommon here in Spain while is more common in NW France and can be found in England too

My mother family also is from Aragon

[Beowulf]

My mother family also is from Aragon

Oh nice from wich part? My paternal side till my great great grandfather are from Andalusia but the oldest ones came from Aragón, Catalayud.

[Valenman]

Oh nice from wich part? My paternal side till my great great grandfather are from Andalusia but the oldest ones came from Aragón, Catalayud.

lol my mother's family is literally from a town near Catalaayud

[Beowulf]

lol my mother's family is literally from a town near Catalaayud

That's Cool!!

[nittionia]

Both sides of my family stopped using Swedish patronymic system in the mid 1900's (once they were in the United States), but also this officially stopped in Sweden in 1963. My mom's surname is Swedish/Finnish in origin and is ornamental (combines her family's birthplace and/or a part of nature in this place).

My paternal surname is German and rare. I sometimes use my mom's surname to have more anonymity.

[Beowulf]

I sometimes use my mom's surname to have more anonymity.

I do that sometimes too with some things, since is less common and not from Spain.

[Mopi Licinius Crassus]

I use just paternal surname
Spanish that originates in Leon, I believe

Mother's family name is one of the most common Irish surnames

[nittionia]

Mother's family name is one of the most common Irish surnames

O'Kitty Kat McGee?

[Etelfrido]

Both sides of my family stopped using Swedish patronymic system in the mid 1900's (once they were in the United States), but also this officially stopped in Sweden in 1963. My mom's surname is Swedish/Finnish in origin and is ornamental (combines her family's birthplace and/or a part of nature in this place).

My paternal surname is German and rare. I sometimes use my mom's surname to have more anonymity.

That's very interesting! Do you know if people in Sweden started creating their own surnames when the patronymic system stopped?

I'm not sure I've completely understood your case. When your family stopped using it did they just create one? If they did so already in the US then I suppose that if your family name exists in Sweden/Finland it's by the mere coincidende of other people inventing the same one and not for having relatives there, or am I wrong?

[nittionia]

That's very interesting! Do you know if people in Sweden started creating their own surnames when the patronymic system stopped?

I'm not sure I've completely understood your case. When your family stopped using it did they just create one? If they did so already in the US then I suppose that if your family name exists in Sweden/Finland it's by the mere coincidende of other people inventing the same one and not for having relatives there, or am I wrong?

On my mother's side, the Swedish woman had a patronymic name (-dotter) and married a Swedish man with a nature name from his family's region. On my father's side, they just used the last patronymic name that was used as their "official" new name.

I haven't thought much about it except for it's super annoying building a family tree with a million different Sven Svensson's

Here's some info I found online:

Sweden passed the Names Adoption Act in December 1901, requiring all citizens to adopt heritable surnames—names that would pass down intact instead of changing every generation. Many families adopted their current surname as their hereditary family surname; a practice often referred to as a frozen patronymic. In some cases, the family just chose a name they liked—such as a "nature name," an occupational surname related to their trade, or a name they were given in the military (e.g. Trygg for "confident"). At this time most women who were using patronymic surnames ending in -dotter changed their surname to the male version ending in -son.