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maker), Cartwright, or the most common: Smith. By the 1400s most people in England and Scotland were known by a first and surname. The Icelandic system of surnames is slightly different as it takes the forename of the parent and transplants it to the surname of the child: Lars Magnusson's child would be known as Bjorn Larsson.

Surnames were not static as they are now. Immigrants would bring their names with them but would often adopt either a more local sounding version, or take on a surname relating to their new surroundings. Dialects and language variations between inhabitants would also influence what a person became known as. Again, since very little was written down and few people could read during the Dark Ages, first names remained the more important form of identification. In the American new world, African slaves were given the surnames of their owners and many have retained these to this day. Hyphenation of surnames is another variation that is relatively modern and dates from the 18th century in Britain; instead of giving up her maiden name, a woman could link her surname with that of her new husband so that if Jane Woods married John Smith, they could be come either Mr and Mrs Smith-Woods or Mr and Mrs Woods-Smith. A third option would be to retain the maiden name for the wife but to give any offspring a hyphenated combination of maternal and paternal surnames. This is similar to the practice in many Spanish speaking communities where an individual will have both the paternal and maternal family names though often only uses the paternal one.

Culturally some names hold more importance than others. In Native American tribal culture, the practice of a child being given the name of the first thing its parents saw was once used. Names would then be added, or replaced as the child grew to maturity. In most tribes, a male child would not be given a name already being used by a living member of the tribe, to avoid confusion. Female children were not restricted to this convention and could be given names that were common in the tribe. Among some tribes, such as the Navaio, names were private between family members. When conversing with outsiders, another name would be used, often an English or Spanish name. Many Native American people find it disrespectful for tribal names to be used by non-native peoples.

Heritage plays an important part in the selection of names culturally, and many families have a tradition of naming their first-born son with the same name

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