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→Historical Background
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It is not possible to determine the exact year or even the century when hereditary family names were taken. In most countries, the process took two or three centuries to become universally established in the society. Hereditary names were first used by the nobility and wealthy land owners. Later the custom was followed by merchants and townspeople and eventually by the common village folk. | It is not possible to determine the exact year or even the century when hereditary family names were taken. In most countries, the process took two or three centuries to become universally established in the society. Hereditary names were first used by the nobility and wealthy land owners. Later the custom was followed by merchants and townspeople and eventually by the common village folk. | ||
Surnames in the modern sense were first used among Byzantine and Venetian nobility about the ninth century. From Venice the practice spread to much of Western Europe. By the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries the custom was widely practiced in Britain and France. In Central Europe; Germany, Hungary, and Austria; including the area now in | Surnames in the modern sense were first used among Byzantine and Venetian nobility about the ninth century. From Venice the practice spread to much of Western Europe. By the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries the custom was widely practiced in Britain and France. In Central Europe; Germany, Hungary, and Austria; including the area now in the Czech Republic, the practice was well established by the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. | ||
=== Masculine and Feminine Surnames === | === Masculine and Feminine Surnames === | ||