Did the first generation who did this get to pick their own last name? Did they all originate from the place they were from? (Ex. Jesus of Nazareth) How long has middle names been a thing? I've been wondering about this for some time and I would appreciate it if someone would clear this up for me. Thanks!
Hi there, there's always room for more answers, but while you wait you may be interested in these past threads about surnames (you can find many if you use the "search" function, but these are a few with many comments)
http://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/zo1h0/where_did_surnames_come_from/
http://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1cadxn/when_did_surnames_become_common/
For this you need writing, so this is all based on who had writing that survived.
The earliest inherited family names are from Shang China, but these are family name first followed by personal name (c. 1500 BC).
Sumerians, Egyptians, Babylonians, Phoenicians, &c - no family names. The Hellenes had clans, and they had names, but no one used it as part of their name. They were X the son of Y, never X of the Z clan.
Now, the Etruscans originated a form later used by their cultural copiers, the Romans. This was the praenomen, given name, followed by the nomen, clan name, then the cognomen, name of the family in the clan. (C. 700 BC) The Romans made this messy, because for some of them the nomen was a family name and the cognomen a nickname that changed between members of a family, and sometimes was an agnomen, honor name, that might or not be inheritable.
As the Roman empire broke down, naming got chaotic and people quit using family names in the Roman style, except around the court in Constantinople. The Gauls and all had never had a native tradition of family names, and used the Roman style very sporadically, if at all.
Inherited family names did not appear in Western Europe again until the Rennaissance, varying by country, and generally starting with the nobility. Note that the royal family of France never did use a family name!
Let me continue this when I don't have to thumb type.
Sources:
Dix, Die Etruscanishe cognomen
Camden, Remaines Concerning Britain
Louie, Chinese-American Names with its compact eexplanation of name traditions
Ingraham, People's Names
Hi! Fyi, you'll find more in the FAQ