• wtypstanaccount04 [he/him]
    hexagon
    ·
    2 years ago

    IIRC this was partially an ellis island thing: immigrants had no last names so they would just say who their dads were

    • Barabas [he/him]
      ·
      edit-2
      2 years ago

      Patronyms were fairly common all over Europe at the time. It was around the 1600s that names started being inherited among non-nobles. Usually either a patronym or an occupation name otherwise.