Names have become more complex over time
Names have become more complex over time
Names have become more complex over time (presumably, as human numbers grew and communication increased). Last names were added as recently as the Middle Ages in Europe. In antiquity only first names were used, followed by the name of the state whenever needed. The latter was the case, however, only occasionally, for just a very few individuals (for example, authors; see, for instance, ‘Thucydides of Athens wrote…’), given the locally restricted lives that the vast majority of humans lived until very recently. Within small, closed communities individuals would have been known by a single name, perhaps followed by other, more relevant identifiers. This is visible today within workplaces (e.g. John from Marketing, Mary in Geography class) or in other small and close-knit groups of individuals. In the Middle Ages the state lost its explicit inclusion in the name of an individual and moved into the background, although it continued to be implied on each use (locality still being relevant in human lives). It has remained in the background ever since, a silent but ever-present third party whenever any two humans interact.
Navigate: ← §08.01.01.00 · Corpus · §08.01.03.00 →