Origin and meaning

How to find out everything about your surname

Have you already thought about where your surname comes from and what it means?(Bild: adobestock)

We all have at least one first name and one surname. However, very few of us know about the origin and meaning of the latter. With the help of artificial intelligence, many people want to find out more about their surnames - an expert explains why this is not so easy.

For a long time, people got by with first names - it was only when they began to live in larger settlements and smaller towns that there were suddenly several people with the same name. Around 1800 to 1900 years ago, the surname had to be added. This could be chosen according to various criteria, as name researcher Prof. Dr. Ernst from the University of Vienna explains: "For example, there were names of origin according to the region you came from - Prague, for example. Or so-called patronymics, i.e. names after the father. So Ernst, the son of Werner, became 'Ernst Werner'."