english naming system

[mateen-05pk]

sir
i want to know english naming system in detail .
what is meant by first name , second name , given name , surname etc
wat does schwa stand for?
thanks

[Casiopea]

For example, take the female name Mary Anne Smith:

Mary (first name or given name) It comes first in the order.
Anne (middle name or second name) It comes second in the order.
Smith (last name or surname or family name) It comes last in the order. 'surname' comes from French.

Everyone has a first name; it's what your parents give you when you're born. Children of the same family do not share their first names. That is, each child in the family has a different first name. Not everyone has a middle or second name. They're not necessary. Everyone has a last name, a family name, also called a surname.

If you're interested in the history of the American naming system, or how it came to be, check out the following site: http://www.users.bigpond.net.au/hard...tandardEnglish
(Scroll down to Colonial American Naming patterns.)

Click on the link below to read about schwa.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwa

[trustM]

Sorry C, I guess we posted replies at nearly the same time

[Casiopea]

No worries. I took care of it.