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Second names began to develop when more and more people moved to the cities in the middle ages. When you lived in a small village where everyone knew each other, you wouldn't need them. But in such collections of people often sharing a first name, you'd need to start expanding their names so you could tell them apart. Early second names usually came from the job or position a family had. Here in Germany for example, very common last names are "Müller" (miller), "Bäcker" (baker) or "Bauer" (farmer), all of which were the most common jobs back then of course.
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Proud FESS (Fire Emblem Santuary of Stategy) forum member "I'll hack you"- Celice of FESS
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