I thought of this in the shower, then deleted it when someone in a discord I asked it to eventually said duh it’s Michael Jackson, and another replied Michael Jordan you dumbass … oof … but then while deleted it got upvotes somehow so whatever lol
I thought of this in the shower, then deleted it when someone in a discord I asked it to eventually said duh it’s Michael Jackson, and another replied Michael Jordan you dumbass … oof … but then while deleted it got upvotes somehow so whatever lol
Is Jackson a “first” name? Sure, I understand that some people use it as a first name, but I would say someone named Jackson Smith has two last names.
Michael Jordan though, that’s legit.
Jackson is a patronymic last name: Jack’s son.
Smith is an aptronymic last name: a smith.
So yeah, bang on.
There are a bunch of aptronymic last names, especially in English culture. The Baker family, the Tanner family, the Shoemaker family etc.
Don’t ask about the Dickinsons.
I’d love to know why you know these terms. I’m a huge etymology nerd and I eat this stuff up.
This entire thread begs the question, why do some people have a first name for a last name? Is it just a less-clear patronym?
I too am an etymology geek, I had to look up “aptronym” (I already knew there was a word for it, but couldn’t remember it) but already knew “patronym”. I can occasionally work out the approximate Latin roots of words and take a stab at what to search for.
Regarding names’ positions moving around… that’s just people. People name their children all sorts of stupid things that eventually become normal.