LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Surnames: Families
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The original soc.genealogy.surnames was created in December 1994, after a vote to reorganize the old soc.roots newsgroup. The group was created as a forum for surname queries, which are of interest only to others researching the same families, to leave the other soc.genealogy.* newsgroups open for more general discussions. It was created as a moderated newsgroup to ensure that all queries included at a minimum surname, places, and dates. An added feature was an archive, indexed by the subject line as each article is posted.
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The Chinese have had surnames long before the period of the Three Emperors and Five Kings, that is, during the time when recognition was given only to one's mother and not one's father. Hence, the Chinese character for surname is made up of two individual characters----one meaning woman and one meaning to give birth. That is to say, the surnames of the early Chinese followed the maternal line. Before the three dynasties of Xia, Shang and Zhou (2140-256 BC), the people in China were already having surnames (Xing) and clan-names (Shi). The surnames originated from the name of the village in which one live or the family to which one belonged, while the clan-name derived from the name of the territory or the title granted, sometimes posthumously, by the emperor to a noble for an achievement. Hence, only nobles had surnames as well as clan-names.
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[One] class of surnames, those derived from a physical or other characteristic of first bearer, make up an estimated 10% of all surname or family names. These descriptive surnames are thought to have originally evolved as nicknames during the Middle Ages when men created nicknames or pet names for his neighbors and friends based on personality or physical appearance. Thus, Michael the strong became Michael STRONG and black-haired Peter became Peter BLACK. Sources for such nicknames included: an unusual size or shape of the body, bald heads, facial hair, physical deformities, distinctive facial features, skin or hair coloring, and even emotional disposition.
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There are seven newsgroups in the soc.genealogy.surnames.* family. Five of the groups cover specific regions. The group soc.genealogy.misc covers all other areas of the world. All queries are cross-posted to soc.genealogy.surnames.global in addition to the relevant regional groups.
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In both first names and surnames, couples now have the freedom to "search and choose the name that really feels like you and really stands for the individual you think you are," said Satran. "It embodies values, history and image. Naming your family is not unlike naming a company."
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In antiquity no surnames were used, then for the first time in ancient Rome the use of the tria nomina for the citizens was established. As an example, the three parts in "Marcus Tullius Cicero", consisted of "Marcus" - preanomen, or individual's name; "Tullius", the nomen identifying the gens or family, and the cognomen "Cicero" which was a kind of nickname to identify the individual still further.
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