ABSTRACT
The single name predominated in the early Middle Ages, and what had become the baptismal name remained “the main denomination”1 right through the medieval period and beyond. But increasingly from the eleventh century onwards, a second name was added. At first “an accessory and transitory addition”,2 this second name in time became an integral part of an individual’s name. This was a slow and irregular process. Meanwhile, the second name also became the family name, transmitted from generation to generation. This whole development was Europe-wide.
