Why do we have so many different surnames?

In the old neighborhood. At first, people with different occupations or fathers with different names. Therefore, surnames reflect either occupation (baker, weaver, etc.). ) or descent (Richardson, Jameson, etc. -even Ingridsdottir in Iceland). Even rarer, some people may be called where their family members came from before.

Once immigration begins, these names are mixed together, so a community may have something with the same name in meaning but expressed in different languages. In addition, taking Gaul as an example, after the Romans took over, many Gauls changed their names to Latin. Later, when the Franks took over, many Gaul Romans adopted Germanic names.

Therefore, in the early days of human history, immigrants mixed groups with names from trade, descent or place, and then conquest led some people to adjust their names to adapt to the new regime. Since then, with the continuation of immigration, the types of surnames have been increasing. To go to the United States, a country mainly composed of immigrants from all over the world, the sky is the limit. Especially because some people call their names in English to meet their needs. So my home-Rich Creek-sounds very English, but it was actually translated from German Reichbach. Never mind those who change their names to escape some form of prejudice, or just because the new name looks better in the big tent ("lauren bacall" instead of "Betty Jean Persker").