when is the first time to use surname in European history?

[johen]

Jesus or Cesar is not surname. When in history record?

[Harkonnen]

I've read that East Finnish last name tradition is oldest in Europe. I don't know if that's completely true.

[Bezprym]

No one will tell you when exactly, but I guess in Rome. Ceasar was not a surname, but a title - however the person you most likely refer to was named Gaius Iulius.

Don't know why you mention Jesus though.

[Milo]

The Greeks invented surnames, Raine can expand on this.

[Ouistreham]

Interesting question.
I think the Romans were the first in Europe to use surnames in addition to a first name (and even added a nickname, which was actually the most used appellation for everyone, e.g. Caius Julius Caesar).

This tradition went lost with the Roman Empire but was revived very early (around 700 or 800 AD) in Italian cities like Venice.

At any rate, surnames didn't appear in France and Germany prior to the 13th century.

In Iceland they still use only patronyms.

[Bezprym]

The Greeks invented surnames, Raine can expand on this.

Surely Greeks invented everything, even fire (Prometheus).

[Harkonnen]

The Savo-Karelian lastnames are actually claimed to be the oldest family-names given to commoners. The families excisted already during the oldest possible written records in 12th century. Well Savo-Karelians families of course are Kings and Noblemen in their own right, just without a Kingdom to rule, except the one they share.

[Harkonnen]

...

[Mens-Sarda]

well, Romans used surnames, but in a slight different way, they indicated their lineage, a sort of enlarged family, they used three names, the famous "tria nomina" :

praenomen (name) nomen (surname, lineage) cognomen (nickname)

for example let's take Caesar's name :

Gaius Julius Caesar

name : Gaius
surname : Julius (it means of the Gens Julia)
nickname : Caesar (the cut)*

* because the doctor had to cut his mother's belly to deliver him, from this episode took its name the Caesarean Section, because he was the first child born in this way

we could translate his name as : Gaius of the Gens Julia known as Caesar

other examples :

Marcus Licinius Crassus -> Marcus of the Gens Licinia known as Crassus (fat, it's also a synonymous of rich, in fact he was the richest man of Rome)
Marcus Tullius Cicero -> Marcus of the Gens Tullia known as Cicero (chickpea; because he had various warts on the face that looked like chickpeas)

[EL_BARBARO]

Nope, Iberians