The most common surname on the planet is Li, the second is Wang. For awhile a man could give his sons any surname, and in the same family one son might be William Hunter, one Edward Farmer, and the other James Cook. Surnames as we know them today were first assumed in Europe from the 11th to the 15th centuries. They were not in use in England and Scotland before the Norman conquest of 1066, and were first found in the Domesday book. Occupational names denote the trade or profession of early users.
Nicknames describe mental or physical characteristics, clothes etc.
Patronymic names used a father's first name as the last name of his son. Our ancestors often used the following naming procedure when picking out a name for a new child. This explains why certain names are very common in a given family line. Watching for these patterns can sometimes help in your genealogy research. His Lordship was installed as a Knight of the Garter in December of the same year.