In Bhutan, most people use either only one name or a combination of two personal names typically given by a Buddhist monk. There are no inherited family names, but instead, Bhutanese differentiate themselves with nicknames or prefixes.
Iceland is a country that values tradition and customs and has a strong sense of family. But it also means there's no family lineage carried down through a single surname. You would imagine Iceland's naming system would make it difficult to trace a family tree. Not so.
Mononymous. Hard to pronounce, but easy to understand. When a person has reached the point of fame or infamy at which they are recognized by just one name, they become mononymous.
Single names
There is no law preventing you from being known by a single name, or mononym — that is, a first name only, with no surname — and HM Passport Office should accept such a name, although they may be more sceptical of your application.
Nevertheless — as a person is normally called and known by something — a person will always have a name of some kind. It's possible to have a single name — that is — a first name only, and no surname (although the single name could still consist of more than one word or name).
Like a lot of countries, Australia has adopted the three-name concept of registering names, which consists of a first or given name, a middle name, and a surname. The surname, by law, has to take the surname of the parents, while the given name and middle name are at the parents discretion.
As there are no last names, Icelanders often go by first names with a middle name for clarification. While this may seem strict to outsiders, it is for good reason, and that is to protect Iceland's cultural heritage, they say, which is a huge part of the Icelandic language and identity.
There is no law requiring a person to have a surname in the U.K., even if most people do have a surname. Neither is there any law requiring a person to have a first name. Although all births must be registered, the law does not require a first name to be given.
The longest personal name is 747 characters long, and belongs to Hubert Blaine Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff Sr.
Australians with mononyms, a single name, are recommended to enter the same name in both fields, or alternatively, put the mononym into one field with "any character" into the other field.
A mononym may be the person's only name, assigned to them at birth. This was routine in most ancient societies, and remains common in modern societies such as in Afghanistan, Bhutan, Indonesia, Java, Myanmar, Mongolia, Tibet, and South India.
In 2016, Zendaya told Allure that her decision to only go by her first name was simply the result of thinking it sounded cooler. “I [dropped my last name because I] just thought it was cool, like Cher or Prince,” the actress said.
More than 106 million people have the surname Wang, a Mandarin term for prince or king. It's not too surprising that the top surname is Chinese, as China has the world's largest population. As of 2022, it was home to 1.45 billion people, or 18.5 percent of the world's total.
Drum roll, please: Turns out, no countries in the world start with the letters W or X.
Certain titles (such as Dr, Prof, Lord, Sir, etc) are controlled by law and you cannot change your title to them unless you are entitled to use them.
Don't worry: you've got until six weeks after your baby is born to register a name, so there's no harm in waiting to meet your baby before choosing. Many newborns seem to choose their own names simply by suiting them.
International standards for travel documents specify that a person's name should comprise both primary and secondary identifiers, and include their whole name, including given first and middle name/s and family name.
The most popular baby names 2022 in the US are led by Olivia in the top spot for girls and Liam as the #1 name for boys. The most recent list of popular names ranks all the names given to five or more newborns born in the US in 2022.
Madagascan Names and their Meanings
In traditional Madagascan culture, there is only one name, i.e. there is no separate first name and family name. For example, Razafindrandriatsimaniry is a 24 letter name that means the grandson of the prince or nobleman who is envious of no one.
As offsprings of each generation can be either male or female and only the males carry on family names, the family name becomes extinct if male descendants die out. This is also related to the Y chromosome transmission in genetics.