Most names of today's population in England, the United States and Canada, Australia, and in fact the whole English-speaking world, had their beginning long ago in England. There are many ways in which English family names began, so many that there are whole books about them. In this text you will read about a few of the different ways. When you read the text, you will see that many Russian family names began in the same way as English family names. About a thousand years ago there were very few people living in the British Isles. Towns and villages were very small, and in the country-side people lived far from each other. Because there were so few people, almost everyone had only one name. A name such as John, David or Mary was all that was needed. As time went on, more and more people appeared in the towns and country – side of Britain. To distinguish one John by name from another, people began to add a family name to the first names. Wh ... Читать дальше »