Did you ever think about how people got their surnames (family names)? Did you ever {#blank#}1{#/blank#}who was the first person to have your surname?

      Many modern British surnames go {#blank#}2{#/blank#} to the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons who ruled England for 300 years, until 1066 AD. During those {#blank#}3{#/blank#}，people just had one name. To tell each person apart, the Anglo-Saxons added  , {#blank#}4{#/blank#} the place a person came from or the job they did to their first name. For example, a lady called Agatha {#blank#}5{#/blank#} the town of Blackburn could be called Agatha Blackburn.　　

      The Vikings, on the other hand, {#blank#}6{#/blank#} the name of a person's father or mother. So Erik Jonsson was the son of a man named Jon. Many Viking men {#blank#}7{#/blank#} had nicknames (绰号). These used to mean the opposite of what the person was actually like. For example, John Short could be a very {#blank#}8{#/blank#} man, or Erik Wise could be a man who was not very clever!

       So, next time someone tells you their surname, stop and think for a minute. It might tell you {#blank#}9{#/blank#} about their ancestors(祖先) from centuries ago!