American Surnames
Publisher: Genealogical Publishing Company
Published: June 1997
Format: Paperback
ISBN-13: 9780614105551
Subjects: Genealogy; Reference; History: American
First sentence: AFTER THE ROMAN three-name system deteriorated into the single cognomen by the fourth century A.D., it was not until the tenth century that modern hereditary surnames first developed among the Venetian patricians.