How come some people have one name. No last name?

Question

How come some people have one name. No last name?

Answer 1

The use of surnames is to identify someone...the Hebrew meaning for surname is "to address."

They didn't say "last" name, as we do, because it wasn't a last name, it was the person's identification.

People were known by their family, tribe, nation, residence or occupation they were of.

So, you might see somebody with one name, but their nation, residence or occupation serves as their surname, not last name, as we call it, but surname to identify them.

Answer 2

They came from poor families and couldn't afford to get one.

Answer 3

There was a time no one had a surname.

Most people in Europe did not have one until the last melennium.  Henry whose father's name was John, if he could write would sign his name "Henry, son of John."  George who was a blacksmith, would sign his name George, the blacksmith.  They took surnames that way. Most people in England had one by the end of the 14th century.  

They were based on a) being the son of someone b)their occupation c)where they lived d) some characteristic about them. When they got through it wasn't impossible for legitimate sons of the same man to have different surnames and still they could have each shared their surname with others with whom they were not related.  It was a couple of more centuries in many cases before the same name was past down from father to children in each generation.  

I haven't run into anyone that only has one surname. In some cultures it is not the last name but the first name.