Surnames as we know them today were first assumed in Europe from the 11th to 15th century. They were not in use in England and Scotland before the Norman Conquest and were first found in the Doomsday Book.

The employment of a second name, a custom that was introduced by the
Normans, who themselves had not long before adopted them, became in the
course of time, a mark of gentle blood, and it was deemed a disgrace for a
gentleman to have but one single name, as the meaner sort had. It was not
until the reign of Edward II (1307-1327) that the practice became general
among all people.

These names were adopted according to fairly general principles divided into
four classifications. Local names are taken from places of origin.
Nicknames describe mental and physical characteristics, clothes, complexion
etc. The Patronymic was the method of taking the first name of the father
as the last name of the son.

During the 13th century Heralds became the acknowledged experts in the
system of supervising and recording the signs on the shields which were
known as armorials and out of the age of chivalry emerged the tradition
which takes our imagination back to the stirring and historic events and
scenes of the Middle Ages. Now we are able to display such symbols, or
Coats of Arms, associated to our name as a decorative rendition of a
Heraldic artists impression of ancient blazons for prosperity.

In the 14th and 15th centuries, Barons, Lords, Knights reveal over 30 Coat of Arms registered to different people of the same surname. It was considered big at that time under the Coat of Arms system of surnames. In Normandy, well before the Conquest of England, the surnaming protocol had been born of the feudal system. In Saxon England, surnames had not entered the social scheme of ownership. It was only the title and the first names used. There could only be one person identifying himself with entitlement to the Norman domain, which created a problem if the old man lived to a ripe old age, and many did.

There were sons, even grandsons, requiring to be identified with their posterity and probable hereditary rights of their own new domains at some time in the future. It was difficult to assign any name to them. Then came the first answer to the surnaming protocol followed so far as Fitz meaning the 'son of'. The Viking society rarely made any distinction between descendants in or out of marriage. Already the Danish Vikings were adopting the tag 'son' on the end of font names for distinction such as Ericson, Estrithson. Hence, 'son' names are now found mostly in Northern England.

Similarly, the prefix Mac was adopted by the Scottish, the "O" by the Irish, and the Ap or Ab by the Welsh. The Normans even introduced the Sr. and Jr. as suffix to distinguish father and son but it was not popular. No such prefix or suffix was adopted in the Saxon naming protocol as far as can be determined. Fitz names were of a temporary nature until such time as they were changed to a new heritable domain name, or one was acquired from the main hereditary family estates. Younger sons were given a place name, a domain within the father's domain, which in turn would become their own lifetime domain/surnames. This made the establishment of a genealogical link from the younger sons to their father very difficult. Each of the younger sons grew with a different surname from the father. It was the beginning of a naming custom subject to personal interpretation or family convenience. There were many loopholes in these early systems and the procedure was not followed diligently.

The scion of the family in Normandy, generally adopted his domain name as his own surname. Other houses followed the same system which was a simple identification of their patrimony. The Norman ranking of titles was not as clearly defined as it was in the late Middle Ages, or is today. Lordships were granted for domains, large or small and each carried variable rights and powers in his local court and justice system. This was a first crude attempt at administrative organization which was by no means perfect, but at least it changed the complexion of the land and was not a replication of the loose structures in Normandy.

The Norman ranking of titles was not as clearly defined as it was in the late Middle Ages. William generally assumed the heritable title of Duke, most likely in deference to the French King with whom he had a vague relationship. Lesser nobles could be labeled in style as counts, countesses, bishops, seigniors, sires, lords, masters, constables, sheriffs, even princes. The laws of priority seemed to evolve more on the size of a noble's estates and his influence in the royal court rather than any precise ranking protocol.
When Duke William was elected he tried to improve the system in England when he elected just one controlling and administrative head, an Earl, to each county. Lordships were granted for domains, large or small, and each carried variable rights and powers in his local court and justice system.

In the post Conquest England, in Europe, the Anglo domain name created new surname identities for younger Norman sons in particular. The Norman domain name system got popular throughout Europe very soon. It became more firmly established as a protocol. Undoubtedly, the ancient Coat of Arms also found new roots.

It was in this environment that the surname was born, a symbol of ownership, possessions, pride and greed. The Norman surnames had more opportunity for growth since they represented wealth, ownership and title, and were more motivated to establish posterities which would continue well into the distant future, for their dynasties and their descendants. They would fare better through the pestilence simply because they would be better equipped to resist. They were accustomed to breed sons for the battle, and a little on the side for their own posterity. Many of these warriors died young, but surprisingly, many lived to be very old. And nevertheless, the spirit of the ancient family names continued to survive.