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The Origins of English Surnames The Chinese were the first nation of people to use surnames about 2,500 years ago. Western countries did not start to use them until about 1,000 years ago. Until that time, people were simply known only by their given names. In England, this was not a problem until the French invaded in the 11th century. During this period, most English names became unpopular and only a few popular names were available, such as William, Henry, John, Robert, Richard and Thomas. Eventually, people had to start taking a surname to distinguish themselves from each other. Today, everyone in English-speaking countries has a surname, but where did they come from? Father’s name Often a son got his surname from his father by adding “s” or “son” to his father’s given name. Robertson, Williamson, Jackson, Thomson, Richardson, Roberts, Williams and Richards are all common surnames. Occupation Other surnames were formed from a person’s job such as Cook, Smith, Gardener, Baker, Shepherd, Taylor, Butcher or Carpenter. So the local baker may have been called Henry Baker, the local carpenter William Carpenter and the local smith Henry Smith. Location Sometimes people took place names, perhaps the name of their village, for example, for a surname. Often people were given the name of a physical feature near their home such as Hill, Field, Wood, Brown or Green. The man who lived by the wood might be called Jack Wood and the man who lived on the top of a nearby hill might be called John Hill. Characteristics Often the other people in the village gave a person his surname. If a person had an unusual physical characteristic, it became part of his name. So a man who was unusually short might be called John Short or John Little. If he was tall, he may have been called William Tall or William Long. Other common nicknames were White (for grey hair), Red (for red hair) and Stout (meaning fat). A son or daughter might