8_11_Uncovering the Mystery of Family Names (2)

Where do English family names come from?

 

[Steve]

Family tree

[Chip & Chelsea]

Most English surnames can be traced back to one of four sources:
Place names 
Perhaps the most convenient way to acquire(get/obtain) a surname was to adopt a name based on the place one lived. A man named John who was living in Bristol, England, would be called John of Bristol. Gradually the prepositions disappeared, and John of Bristol simply became John Bristol. A person named Oliver who lived by a lake might become Oliver Atwater.
Nicknames
Nicknames also have a place in English surname history. For example, if a man were unusually strong, he might adopt a surname such as Armstrong. Likewise, a person who was tall might become Longfellow. 
Trade names 
Trade laborers(workers) often used their occupations as surnames. A woodworker might go by the last name Carpenter. Down the street might be Mr. Smith, the village blacksmith.
Patronymics (Father, name)
Surnames that indicate family relationships were the last to catch on(be popular/ common). They worked like this: Peter’s son John became John Peterson, and Robert’s son Joseph would have been called Joseph Robertson.
Whether common or unique, all English family names are full of history!

 

Adopt: to choose a new name, a country, a custom, etc. and begin to use it as your own 選用（名字等）；移居（某國）；承襲（風俗） VN

§  to adopt a name/title/language 取名；襲用頭銜；採用某語言

§ Early Christians in Europe adopted many of the practices of the older, pagan religions. 歐洲早期的基督教徒承襲了更古老的一些異教的許多習俗。

[Traditional Chinese Translation]

大多數英文姓氏可以追溯至四種來源之一：

地名
採用居住地的地名做為姓氏，或許是最方便的方法。住在英國布里斯托一位名叫約翰的人，就會被叫做「布里斯托的約翰」。然後漸漸地中間的介係詞消失了，於是「布里斯托的約翰」就變成了「約翰•布里斯托」。住在湖邊的奧利佛可能就變成奧利佛•艾特華特。

綽號
綽號在英國姓氏史上也佔有一席之地。例如，如果一個人特別強壯，他可能會採用像阿姆斯壯這樣的姓。同樣地，長得高的人可能就會姓朗費羅。

行業名
從事勞動行業的人往往用職業做為姓氏。木工的姓就可能是卡本特。住在街那頭村裡的鐵匠，可能就會姓史密斯。

父系
表示家庭關係的姓氏，則是最後才開始流行的來源。取法是這樣的：彼得的兒子約翰取名約翰•彼得生，羅伯的兒子約瑟夫就會是約瑟夫•羅伯生。
無論姓氏是普通還是獨特，所有英文姓氏都有典故喔！

 

[More Information]

[Ashley & Ken]

A: So, what are you reading today, Ken?
K: Oh, a very interesting article about English surnames?
A: English surname? Oh, you mean English family name?
K: Yeah, family names. The article uses both surname and family name, in fact it even uses last name. Ashley, do these terms mean the same thing?
A: Yes, pretty much. Surname is the same as family name. However last name is mainly used in the West.
K: In the West? So, there are no last names in the East?
A: You should know this better than me, Ken. What’s your last name?
K: Lee.
A: Lee, and how do you say your Chinese name?
K: 李楷恩。
A: See, the Lee is no longer placed at the last place. It’s placed at the beginning.
K: So, Lee is my first name?
A: No, Ken is your first name. Lee is your surname but in China surnames appear at the front of a name. However in the West, surnames are placed at the end of a name. That’s why it’s called last name in the West.
K: Oh, so that’s why馬友友 is called Yo-yo Ma in the West.
A: Right. So Westerners will know right away that Ma is his family name. Also the Taiwanese director An Lee is probably called Lee Ang in Chinese, right?
K: Yep, 李安is his Chinese name.
A: Well, I should let you get back to your reading.
K: Thanks for your explanation.
A: You’re welcome, Lee.
K: (laugh)

英文的姓有好幾個講法，surname, family name, last name都可以表示姓氏，之所以叫做last name是因為西方的姓都是放在last最後面，而中文的姓是放在名字前面，因此，為了方便西方人很多東方人會將自己的姓移到名字後頭，像馬友友就變成了Yo-yo Ma，李安就變成了Ang Lee。
 [Liz]

[Article] Nicknames also have a place in English surname history. 
[Tips] have a place ~ 1. having somewhere to go
*Do you have a place to stay when you’re visiting London?
2. In this article, have a place in history means a certain part of history. We use this phrase when we talk about an important event or a person. 指佔有一席之地的意思。
*The athlete won a place in history when he broke the world record.
*Copernicus claimed a place in history with his contributions to astronomy.

 [Michelle]

Acquire (v.) 1. 獲得，取得。2. 學習到。
*Tim acquired his fortune by investing in the stock market.
Tom的財富是從投資股市中獲得的。
*Harry drove his newly acquired convertible /kənˈvɜːtəbl/ to work today.
Harry今天開他剛買的跑車上班。

convertible   /kənˈvɜːtəbl/ DJ   /-ˈvɜːrt-/ DJ US   /kən’vɝtəbḷ/ KK US

adjective

that can be changed to a different form or use 可改變的；可轉換的；可兌換的 ~ (into/to sth)

noun

a car with a roof that can be folded down or taken off 活動頂篷式汽車

*Nathan acquired Japanese when working in Japan.
Nathan在日本工作的時候學會了日文。
Labor (n.) 勞動。
Laborer (n.) (= worker) 勞動者，勞工A worker means one who does a particular type, manual or non-managerial work. So a worker is used broadly, a laborer especially indicates someone whose work needs physical strength.
*Farm laborers protested against the new import policy.
農場勞動者抗議新的進口政策。
*The union declared that they will fight for the rights of the railroad laborers.
工會宣布他們會為鐵路工人的權益抗爭。
Catch on (phr. v.) 1. 流行，受到歡迎。2. 理解。
Catch at 試圖抓住或握住某樣東西。
Catch out 發覺…有錯誤。
Catch up 趕上，瞭解。
*The band’s song soon caught on and quickly became number one on the Billboard Top 100 chart.
這個樂團的歌曲很快的流行起來很快變成告示榜排行第一名。
*The software slowly caught on and today many companies use it.
這個軟體慢慢的風行起來很多公司都在使用。
*I don’t quite catch on to what she is saying.
我不太明白她在說些什麼。 
*He will catch at any opportunity to practice English.
他設法抓住一切機會來練英文。 
*The interviewer may try to catch you out. 面試官會試圖抓你的錯誤。
*If you miss a lot of classes, it’s very difficult to catch up.
如果你錯過太多的課程，你將會很難趕上其他人。
*At the moment our technology is more advanced, but other countries are catching up with us.
目前我們的技術比較先進，但是其他國家正要追趕上我們。
*Drive faster- they’re catching up with us. (= catching us up)
開快一點，他們要追上我們了。
*I need to catch up some sleep (= after a period without enough sleep).
我需要補眠。
*The first thing I did when I got home was to phone Jo and catch up on all the gossip.
當我回家的第一件事就是打電話給Jo然後瞭解全部的流言。
Patronymic [ˏpatrəˋnɪmɪk] (n.) (adj.) 取自父係的。
Paternal [pəˈtəːrnl](adj.) 父親的，父係的。
Patriarchal (adj.) 由男人所主導控制的。A patriarchal society 父係社會。
Maternal [məˈtəːrnl] (adj.) 母親的，母系的，母方的。 
Matriarchal [ˌmeɪtriˈɑːrkl] (adj.) 由女人所主導控制的。A matriarchal society 母系社會。
*paternal grandmother, uncle 父親的媽媽(祖母)，兄弟。
*maternal grandmother, aunt 母親的媽媽(外祖母)，姊妹。

[Vocabulary]

acquire (n) 取得；養成 It is necessary to acquire a taste for coffee before being able to enjoy it.
preposition (n) 介係詞 Using prepositions like in, at and on correctly is difficult task for English learners.
laborer (n) 勞工；勞動者 The hired laborers worked all day in the farmer’s field.
catch on (phr v) 流行起來；受歡迎 Thanks to Michael Jackson, it didn’t take long for the moonwalk to catch on.

 

How can most English surnames be trace back to?