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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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You don't hear this much any more, at least in the U.S., which may come from the impetus to avoid sectarianism.
Here also the influx of people from cultures ouside what was once called Christendom has seen "Christian" name replaced with the eminently more sensible "given" name. "Surname" is often now replaced with "family name", recognising that many languages put the the family name first, not last.
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 315
enthusiast
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enthusiast
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 315 |
Do you know what is the most common family name in your country?
In Italy the web page of the telephone company offers - as a game - the possibility of knowing how many telephone users in Italy have a given name.
The most common name is ROSSI = RED(S).
Ciao
Emanuela
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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I believe - and I'm speaking from a memory which gets leakier by the day - that the three most common surnames in the US are Smith, Johnson, and Williams.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Whatever happened to Jones?
Does this mean that we now have to keep up with the Smiths?
wow
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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I believe the most common in Québec are Thibodeau and Roy.
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old hand
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old hand
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 819 |
Although others will dissent, I believe that Martin is right up there at the top in the US of A. Anyone here smart enough to check the Census Bureau stats? 
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Joined: Aug 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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I believe that Martin is right up there at the top in the US of A.
It seems to be a pretty common surname in many European languages, as well as English. In looking it up, I was surprised to learn that the famous T-72 tank was built by the Martin armaments factory in what was Czechoslovakia. I guess that a name commemorating the god of war is apt for that bellicose continent.
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 819
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 819 |
T-72 tank was built by the Martin armaments factory in what was Czechoslovakia. I guess that a
name commemorating the god of war is apt for that bellicose continent.
Yes, indeed. And here in the USA, we had the Glenn L. Martin Company, which built bombers in WWII, and is now a part of Lockheed/Martin. BTW, any proper Scot will protest the "Lockheed" spelling; the family came here under the surname of Loughead! But, of course, my fellow Americans can't speak anything but American, soooo.....
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Joined: Aug 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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My own surname is an extremely common one in English speaking countries, probably almost as common as Martin, yet here in New Zealand, in its population of around 4 million, the only relatives I have who share my surname are my wife, father and stepmother. I am always being told "Oh, you must be related to So-and-So", by people who assume that all who share a common family name must be related.
On an aside, and meaning no disrepect to anybody, would you call a short man who had the surname Martin a martinet?
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Joined: Mar 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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My own surname is an extremely common one in English speaking countries
Whoa, Max, not around here! I never heard of a single
Quordlepleen (or a married one, either) in all of Louisville.
And, shortness is a relative term. Compared to me, most women and a fair number of men are "short". But I know a man goes by the name of Martin who, though less than my height physically, has stood taller in the face of adversity than I'll ever be. Definitely not a martinet.
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