# Medieval surname for the royal family



## WordTrance (Dec 28, 2013)

I've been researching surnames during the middle ages, and I get the impression that around around 1200 or so they began to appear for individuals of all statuses. But, I also get the impression that some people, specifically some royals and nobles, had surnames even before that time.

As my story is set in a fantasy world (extremely loosely based on the middle to end of the Middle Ages), I just need a very rough idea of whether or not to use surnames for my king and royal family.

I like with surnames, as well as without, but I feel more comfortable not using surnames. Surnames just sound very modern to me.
From fictional sources, I'm thinking Lannisters and Tyrells work very smoothly in Game of Thrones, but I don't want to come across sounding ridiculous.

I appreciate any ideas. Thank you very much.


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## Outiboros (Dec 29, 2013)

In my fantasy story, I used very modern surnames for the commonfolk, as to make them more relatable to the reader. A Morris, a Hobbes, a Mallorey, a Marcard; modern names, maybe, but I didn't want to pollute my writing with the random generator-quality names.

Royalty, though, had more outlandish names. They were from old lineages and as such had old names, names from a previous empire that spoke a different language. The name of the emperor was Teles II Sestirra.

That's one way of doing it. The other way might be closer to reality; give them surnames in like 'of XXXX' or 'of the House of XXXX'. I live in the Netherlands, and the surname of our royal family has been 'of the House of Orange-Nassau' since 1544. Princes and princesses are often called Prince/Princess of Orange-Nassau. Names of the nobility often work this way; their surname is simply the name of the area they lord/lorded over, stylised as 'of XXXX'.


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## WordTrance (Dec 29, 2013)

Thank you for clarifying this for me. I really appreciate it. I think I'm going to go with 'of XXXX' Thanks!


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## pointystar (Jan 26, 2014)

Habsburg, the most famous name is feudal Europe. It was a family lineage that was attempting to unify an otherwise decentralized Europe.


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