If someone (in the world or near you) has the same last name as you do does that make them related to you?

[ashley]

Not necessarily... especially if you have a fairly common last name. If your name is pretty unusual, then the chances are better. It helps to understand how and why last names came about in the first place.

Last names (surnames) began in the middle ages. Before that, most people just went by one name. That worked out okay for a while, when communities were small and each person in a village had their own unique name. But then the population started growing... and at the same time, people began using the same handful of names over and over. Names of saints, kings & queens, and dear old grandpa were popular choices. Every family had a John, a William or a Thomas... and that made things confusing! Which John were you talking about?

In order to distinguish one John from another, it became necessary to tack on a description:

”I saw John the other day.”
”Oh really? Which John?”
”John the baker.”

And so John the baker eventually came to be called John Baker.

Occupations were just one way to describe someone. You could also describe a person by where they lived (John Woods, Tom Rivers); by who their parents were (John Johnson, Tom Williamson); or by a trait they had (John Armstrong, Tom Smart).

Obviously, there were lots of different men who worked as bakers, lived by the woods, or had fathers named John... but they weren’t all related to each other. So neither are their descendants who are living today. However, if two people share a very unique or uncommon last name, there’s a good chance it started with the same ancestor, way back when.