If you have the same last name are you related ?

Question

If you have the same last name are you related ?

Answer 1

No, you just have a common interest in a certain surname.

Answer 2

If you have a very rare surname, perhaps. But, hey, how close a relationship are you talking about? Going back a mere 1600 years, everyone alive on earth today has the same ancestors. (Mapping Human History by Steve Olson).

Having the same surname does not denote any kind of close relationship.  I.e., Johnson means, simply, son of John, so when the king said every one needed a surname, many people chose Johnson because their dad was named John.

But these Johnsons came from different areas and were only distantly related.

Answer 3

In my case yes. Over the years every now and then I'd find someone in the net with the same last name as mine. 100% it is indeed a relative - distant and not so distant whom we have lost contact with.

Answer 4

no. some last names are common.

Answer 5

As many people mentioned, you need to look at locality.  Lee's from China and Lee's from Scotland- no relation.  Also, a two Smith's from Georgia- you'd need to do more research, but highly unlikely.  Now, a Garfield from different parishes in New Orleans, possible.  The question is, how far back in generations do you need to go, and to what degree are they related.  I have to admit, I'm curious what names you are asking about.

Answer 6

Not necessarily some names are respelled from very old European names.(then not spelled right) Or just co-oped when bloodlines died out in other countries.

Answer 7

Not necessarily. Lee is a common surname in China, and it is also a common surname in Scotland - but the two are totally different races and totally unrelated - unless you go back ten or twenty thousand years.

Think about the common last names - like Smith. All the people who were originally called Smith were not related (smith refers to someone like a blacksmith) so their descendants are not related either. If you have a very, very unusual surname, someone who also has that name might be related.

Answer 8

Depends on the name but most common names are based on titles. Smith, Baker, Wright etc are based on their occupation. Other names are regional specific. In my case I found that my last name is either German or Irish. I believe that many of the  Germans are all related and simply immigrated at different times but proving it is going to take a lot of research and will never be conclusive.

Answer 9

Sometimes. Sometimes not. the American Civil War general, Robert E Lee, didn't have any Chinese cousins. Sometimes all it means is your distant ancestor had the same job (Cook, Baker, Carpenter, Fowler, Fletcher, Fisher) as someone else's distant ancestor.

Answer 10

yes, some where along the line the family did a split. one side went left while the other took a right. I'm serious about this. if your doing a search have fun.

Answer 11

In the normal sense that we think "related" (e.g., shared ancestors back no more than about four or five generations) then the answer iclearly "not necessarily."  If you have to go back thousands of years to even TRY to come up with a familial link, then you're pushing logic.  Names have gotten re-used time and time again because people though they were attractive in one way or another.  Names got assigned because of people's professions / work focus, or because of place of origin, or other factors (e.g., slaves often were given last names of their owners).  So, last name implies virtually nothing about being related.

Answer 12

Not necessarily.  People did not have surnames in Europe until the last melennium.   In England most people had one by the end of the 14th century.

They were assigned or took surnames based on a) being the son of someone b)their occupation c) where they lived d) some characteristic about them.

For instance, John had  4 sons, Henry, George, Sam and Robert

Henry, if he could write, signed his name Henry son of John. When he took a surname he became Henry Johns, Henry Johnson or Henry Jones.  

George was a taylor and he became George Taylor,  Other occupational names were Miller, Fisher, Smith, Cooper, Wright, Barber, Carpenter, Clark(clerk) etc.

Sam lived on or near a hill and became Sam Hill.  Some people took the name of the town or castle they lived close to.

Robert had brown hair and became Robert Brown.

Legitimate sons of the same man could have all come up with a different surname and still they could have each shared their surname with others with whom they were not related.

In the Netherlands, it was much later.  They had to have a surname during the reign of Napoleon.  They thought it would be temporary.  Being humourous, they gave themselves disgusting and obnoxious names.  Once they realized it would be permanent, they had a heck of a time getting their names changed.

One of the biggest scams around is the surname product business, including coats of arms(misnomer family crest).  They sell them like they belong to everyone with the same surname.

See the link below from the most prestigious genealogical organization in the U.S., The National Genealogical Society.

http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/comconsumerp...

Answer 13

In Philippines its a common problem for unmarried couples to marry their partner because in our laws, only 3rd degree cousin can marry. Many would really complain because, they didn't have any connection. This problem was because of Narcisso Claveria, former Governor-General of the Spanish-colonized Phil. He ordered that every  must change their surnames to Spanish. It seems that they didn't check at different angles... So many have same surnames without any connectionsss

Answer 14

No not always, some names are just very common.

Answer 15

No way. Gramma imigrated from Yugoslavia & villages were called by certain name (like today) Your last name was the name of your village. Example: mine would be Eva Heights. instead of Eva Brown.