I recently received the question "Que usa mas surname o last name?" in other words, "Which is used more, last name or surname?" The answer basically depends on the dialect of English that is being used. You will probably never see surname used in American English. However it is still common in other dialects of English like British. Our family names are last names since in most "western" (non-asian) languages the family name is used last. Here are some common last names (or surnames) in the United States:
You'll notice that many common last names in the USA are of Spanish origin, but you must consider that a large part of what is now the United States of America, was part of New Spain such as California and most of Texas and those two states have millions of people (probably more than 45 million, but I'll have to check the census data to see what the combined population would be. There is of course migration between the two countries as well so you'll see some English last names in Mexico as well especially in smaller cities that appeal to those who want to retire in Mexico. Other Names We are also called by our "given name" which we usually call our first name or first and middle name if we are given more than one name at birth. Our friends and sometimes our enemies call us by our nicknames which are shortened forms of our names or words that refer to different qualities we have. |
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Vocabulary >
Last name or Surname? |
Meet Your English Teacher Click here to read about I have taught English as a Foreign or Second language for over ten years in private schools and private classes in offices and homes. |