Family Names
Some last names grow longer and longer as they carry a family story from generation to generation. It could decide how easily you move through society. So what’s in a last name?
Last names tell a story. Your last name could determine your career. It could decide how easily you move through society or alternatively how hard it could be to get ahead. Some last names grow longer and longer as they carry a family story from generation to generation. Others stagger under a double barrel as partners perpetuate their own last names through their children and a hyphen.
So what’s in a last name? A whole lot as Mike Williams discovers in The Why Factor.
(Image: A mixture of surnames from around the world. BBC Copyright)
Last on
Broadcasts
- Fri 14 Mar 201420:32GMTBBC World Service Online
- Sat 15 Mar 201414:32GMTBBC World Service Online
- Sat 15 Mar 201423:32GMTBBC World Service Online
- Mon 17 Mar 201402:32GMTBBC World Service Online
- Mon 17 Mar 201409:32GMTBBC World Service Online
Podcast
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The Why Factor
The extraordinary and hidden histories behind everyday objects and actions



