Surnames; their Acquisition and Reasons of Modification: A Historical Study

Abstract

Surnames are considered an essential feature for people, acquired on the course of time in every society, including our Islamic society. A surname comes after the proper name for definition and indication whether for defining or loftiness, praise or dispraise . Surnames were known even before Islam but they were cultivated and some were being forbidden as being hateful and contradict with its noble principles. People's surnames didn't stay fixed with the course of time, perhaps they changed for political, social or economical conditions. Hence, a person will acquire another surname which is different from the familiar. This notion is what this study focuses on to give a clear picture about surnames and the way they were being acquired as well as the reasons they were being transformed.