What is the oldest known last name?
Kushim is the earliest known example of a named person in writing. The name "Kushim" is found on several Uruk period (c. 3400–3000 BCE) clay tablets used to record transactions of barley.
It is interesting to look at what many classify as the oldest and still used surnames. You just may have one or more of these surnames on your family tree. Cohen, Courtenay, Hatt, Katz, King, O'Brien, O'Cleirgh, Priest, and Smith. These names from different European locations date back to 900 A.D. to 1300 A.D.
There is a list of names that are extinct. It includes Bread, Spinster, Chips, Rummage, Pussett, Temples, Wellbelove, Hatman and Bytheseashore. Know anyone with those names – hardly. Other names with just a few individuals include Fernsby, Rushlands, Berrycloth, Dankworth, Birdwhistle, Relish and Tumbler.
Rank | Surname | Estimated Population |
---|---|---|
1 | Smith | 2,442,977 |
2 | Johnson | 1,932,812 |
3 | Williams | 1,625,252 |
4 | Brown | 1,437,026 |
We often refer to Jesus as Jesus Christ, and some people assume that Christ is Jesus's last name. But Christ is actually a title, not a last name. So if Christ isn't a last name, what was Jesus's last name? The answer is Jesus didn't have a formal last name or surname like we do today.
The longest family tree in the world is that of the Chinese philosopher and educator Confucius (551–479 BC), who is descended from King Tang (1675–1646 BC). The tree spans more than 80 generations from him and includes more than 2 million members.
Greg, Peggie, Debra, Stevie and Cheryl are among the 40 baby names set to become extinct in 2023. New research from Pregnacare by Vitabiotics has today revealed the top 40 baby names likely to be extinct in 2023 - as well as those expected to rise in popularity.
As offsprings of each generation can be either male or female and only the males carry on family names, the family name becomes extinct if male descendants die out. This is also related to the Y chromosome transmission in genetics.
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Most unpopular boys names for 2022:
- Jeffrey.
- Nigel.
- Ashton.
- Graham.
- Stuart.
- Chad.
- Gary.
- Bill.
Smith is the most common last name in the United States, followed by Johnson, Miller, Jones, Williams, and Anderson, according to genealogy company Ancestry.com.
What are the top 3 last names?
Rank | Name | Occurrences |
---|---|---|
1. | Smith | 2,376,206 |
2. | Johnson | 1,857,160 |
3. | Williams | 1,534,042 |
4. | Brown | 1,380,145 |
Rank | Name | Age |
---|---|---|
1 | Sarah Knauss | 119 years, 97 days |
2 | Susannah Mushatt Jones | 116 years, 311 days |
3 | Gertrude Weaver | 116 years, 276 days |
4 | Elizabeth Bolden | 116 years, 118 days |

The oldest recorded English name
The oldest English surname on record was actually from East Anglia. Believe it or not, the oldest recorded English name is Hatt. An Anglo-Saxon family with the surname Hatt are mentioned in a Norman transcript, and is identified as a pretty regular name in the county.
Most religious scholars and historians agree with Pope Francis that the historical Jesus principally spoke a Galilean dialect of Aramaic. Through trade, invasions and conquest, the Aramaic language had spread far afield by the 7th century B.C., and would become the lingua franca in much of the Middle East.
Jesus' name in Hebrew was “Yeshua” which translates to English as Joshua. So how did we get the name “Jesus”? And is “Christ” a last name? Watch the episode to find out!
The Danish monarchy has existed for more than 1000 years and is among the oldest royal houses in the world. Read more about the successive monarchs in Denmark all the way from Gorm the Old to the present sovereign, HM Queen Margrethe II.
- Baskerville.
- Darcy.
- Neville.
- Percy.
- Astley.
- Capell.
- Bryon.
- Clifford.
The oldest traceable family tree is that of the Chinese Kang clan, which documents the family's lineage over 5200 years and more than 80 generations! This family tree contains over 2 million descendants, including the great philosopher Confucius.
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The 40 girls and boys names set to go extinct in 2023.
Girls names with less than 3 births | Boys names with less than 3 births |
---|---|
Julianne | Jamiel |
Junie | Kegan |
Justina | Kennie |
Kenzi | Kristopher |
What are rare unique names?
- Jago. For a boy. It clocks in at #1 on the most uncommon names for boys, according to Bounty.
- Khaleesi. For a girl. ...
- Massimo. For a boy. ...
- Darius. For a boy. ...
- Paityn. For a girl. ...
- Xander. For a boy. ...
- Quinn. For a girl or boy. ...
- Fatima. For a girl.
- 1880. Boy: Handy (970) Girl: Parthenia (914)
- 1881. Boy: Okey (972) Girl: Erie (1000)
- 1882. Boy: Ab (943) Girl: Dove (944)
- 1883. Boy: Commodore (925) Girl: Lovey (992)
- 1884. Boy: Spurgeon (958) ...
- 1885. Boy: Fount (989) ...
- 1886. Boy: Squire (953) ...
- 1887. Boy: Bliss (946)
It is illegal. A baby cannot leave the hospital without a name. The legal system can change someone's name in certain circumstances but will not remove it.
- Adolf Hitler: Germany, Malaysia, Mexico, and New Zealand.
- Akuma: Japan.
- All Power: Sonora, Mexico.
- Amir: Saudi Arabia.
- Ashanti: Portugal.
- Bonghead: Australia.
- Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116: Sweden.
- Carolina: Iceland.
In California, as in many states, parents are free to give their child whatever last name they choose, including the mother's surname, father's surname or a completely different surname altogether. If an unmarried woman gives birth, she is free to make this decision by herself.
Rank | Male name | Female name |
---|---|---|
1 | Liam | Olivia |
2 | Noah | Emma |
3 | Oliver | Charlotte |
4 | Elijah | Amelia |
A forbidden header name is the name of any HTTP header that cannot be modified programmatically; specifically, an HTTP request header name (in contrast with a Forbidden response header name).
Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116, ostensibly pronounced [ˈǎlːbɪn] ("Albin"), is a name intended for a Swedish child who was born in 1991. Parents Elisabeth Hallin and Lasse Diding gave their child this name to protest a fine, imposed in accordance with the naming law in Sweden.
- The Walton family with $224.5 billion.
- The Mars family with $160 billion.
- The Koch family with $128.8 billion.
- The Al Saud family with $105 billion.
- The Hermès family with $94.6 billion.
- The Ambani family with $84.6 billion.
- The Wertheimer family with $79 billion.
1. Abbott. The name Abbott is derived from the Old French word abet, which means “priest.” It also has origins in Greek and Latin, where it means “power.”
Can you have no last name in America?
In the United States, going without a name is not inherently illegal. Police won't arrest you for not having a name. But you can't legally identify yourself without one, which would make things difficult for you.
The surname White has a number of supposed origins. Most often it is a descriptive name relating to someone with white or blonde hair, clothing or complexion. In Scotland, it can also be an anglicisation of the Gaelic 'MacGillebhain', meaning 'son of the fair Gillie'.
Males | Females | |
---|---|---|
Rank | Name | Name |
1 | James | Mary |
2 | Robert | Patricia |
3 | John | Jennifer |
The full name "United States of America" was first used during the American Revolutionary War, though its precise origin is a matter of contention.
- Stoll.
- Underwood.
- Verlice.
- Watson.
- Wilson.
- Wisteria.
- Young.
- Zimmerman.
Surname | Rank* |
---|---|
Zimmerman | 1 |
Ziegler | 2 |
Zimmer | 3 |
Zeigler | 4 |
If you look up when someone says “James Smith,” you've got plenty of company. That's the most popular first and last name combination in the United States, according to a study conducted last year by a retired university professor.
China was one of the earliest civilizations to use surnames. People there reportedly took on family names over three thousand years ago to help improve their census. For many years, surnames were passed down by mothers.
Scientists have compiled the world's oldest family tree from human bones interred at a 5,700-year-old tomb in the Cotswolds, UK. Analysis of DNA from the tomb's occupants revealed the people buried there were from five continuous generations of one extended family.
Examples of surnames are documented in the 11th century by the barons in England. English surnames began as a way of identifying a certain aspect of that individual, such as by trade, father's name, location of birth, or physical features, and were not necessarily inherited.
How did slaves get last names?
If their parents were married, they would take their father's surname. When enslaved folks were sold or bequeathed through the enslaver's family, they would, in most cases, only know their mother's last name. But some would choose a new surname entirely.
Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, adam is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as "mankind".
- Duckstein.
- Stawarski.
- Ragsdill.
- Panchak.
- Mosheyev.
- Guillebeaux.
- Banasiewicz.
- Atonal.
The earliest known Irish surname is O'Clery (O Cleirigh); it's the earliest known because it was written that the lord of Aidhne, Tigherneach Ua Cleirigh, died in County Galway back in the year 916 A.D. In fact, that Irish name may actually be the earliest surname recorded in all of Europe.
In 2005, the Guinness Book of World Records recognized the Confucius genealogical line as the longest family tree in history, with 86 recorded generations over 2,500 years. The Chinese philosopher (551 to 479 BCE) is thought to have 3 million descendants all over the world [source: Zhou].
The two surnames names are ancestral, with the father's family name followed by the mother's family name.
Mt-DNA Haplogroup Testing (Up to 100,000 Years)
You can use mt-DNA testing to trace your family history up to 100,000 years, and see each major step your ancient ancestors took along the way.
In 1066 many landowners were simply referred to by their Anglo-Saxon first names, but by 1086 surnames are included.