Currently, the surname is such a familiar attribute of a person that it is difficult to even imagine that once people were free to do without it. For most of its development, humanity has been content only with the use of personal names.
First mention of surnames
Even in the seemingly developed ancient world of Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire there was no such thing as a "surname". A number of researchers are of the opinion that the first surnames appeared among Georgians in the VI century or Armenians in the IV century. However, these claims require additional research. At the moment, historians do not have written evidence of their innocence. Surnames already existed in these countries at that time, however, most likely, they invested in a different value than modern ones. They did not exist for naming families, but for designating huge genera.
The emergence of surnames in Europe
With more confidence, one can judge the occurrence of surnames in Europe. This happened at the junction of the X and XI centuries in the northern part of present-day Italy. From there, the names spread to nearby France, and then to Germany and England.
The proliferation of surnames was not instant, but passed quickly enough. In Frankfurt am Main, Germany in 1312, 66 percent of citizens were considered familyless. In 1351, there were only 34 percent.
In England, the process of acquiring surnames was not voluntary. In the XV century, the king obliged all citizens to receive surnames. In neighboring Scotland, this process lasted until the 18th century.
The Danish king in 1526 obliged all noble families to invent surnames. Noble families received similar instructions in Sweden, but already in the 16th century. So the population of Europe found its roots, learned to honor and respect the clan of their ancestors.
The emergence of surnames in the Russian Empire
European trends reached Russia much later. The first real family names appeared among the inhabitants of the Russian Empire only in the XV-XVI century. The process of acquiring surnames dragged on and lasted for four centuries. The first surnames were acquired by privileged sections of the population - nobles and merchants. But the majority of peasants until 1861, when serfdom was abolished, were nameless.
