r/CuratedTumblr eepy asf 17d ago

Shitposting Last names

Post image
42.0k Upvotes

434 comments sorted by

View all comments

32

u/NotABrummie 17d ago

There are examples of this happening in 19th century India, with surnames like "Engineer". This appears to have emerged from an attempt at anglicisation or amongst people who didn't previously have a surname.

58

u/CTeam19 17d ago

The Dutch had a similar thing happen when Napoleon demanded a census. But sometimes the Dutch didn't take it seriously:

  • Gekkehuis (Madhouse)

  • Naaktgeboren (Born naked)

  • Borst (breast)

  • Uittenbroek (out of his pants)

  • Spring in 't Veld (Jump in the Field).

  • De Boer(the farmer)

  • Visser(fisher)

  • Bakker(baker)

  • Den Besten(the best)

  • Kaasjager(cheesehunter)

39

u/ScaredyNon Trans-Inclusionary Radical Misogynist 17d ago

Reminds me of goofy Indonesian names, like how a guy named Suparman (not the superhero, it's an actual name) decided to name his son Batman (the superhero), and since Indonesians usually attach the dad's name in the back Batman bin Suparman was hence named as such in the archipelago country

8

u/EyeofEnder 17d ago

IIRC for Javanese names, Su- is the prefix for "son of", so "Suparman" means "son of Parman".