Most Europeans, for example, didn’t have permanent last names before the fourteenth century. (China’s Qin Dynasty had, however, been requiring last names since the fourth century B.C. “for the purposes of taxation, forced labor, and conscription.”) But in Europe, as Scott has described, people had a first name, and if something else was needed, they might add their occupation (Miller, Baker, Smith), where they lived (Hill, Brook), or perhaps the father’s given name or clan name (Johnson, Richardson).
