Q: Does anyone know the history of last names? I was talking with someone and I said that Leonardo deVinci actually means Leonardo from Vinci and deVinci wasn't really a "last name" and that they were not used until later to track family lines. Any info? -- Tom

A: In many ways you are correct. Prior to about the 1200s, surnames were not in use. European surnames began to be adopted in Europe in the 13th and 14th century. In many ways surnames are a modern contrivance, assuming that you consider the last 700 or so years to be modern. However, it was the Romans who established family names or cognomina even though they did not catch on during the Roman occupation of England.

Surnames take their origins from many different methods. There are patronymics, clan names, locality names, and names taken from occupations. Even names that appear not to have any connection may in fact, due to different languages, be the same name...

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