Surnames meaning family relationships were the last to be common.
"Surnames meaning family relationships were the last to be common."
What does this sentence mean? Does it mean it's very uncommon? Or does it mean that it's very common in the last one of a list? Thanks!This is from an article.

Almost all English surnames can be traced back to one of the four sources:
Place names
...
Nicknames
...
Trade names
...
Father's names
Surnames meaning family relationships were the last to be common. ...
Whether common or unique, all English family names are full of history!

Question

Surnames meaning family relationships were the last to be common.
"Surnames meaning family relationships were the last to be common."
What does this sentence mean? Does it mean it's very uncommon? Or does it mean that it's very common in the last one of a list? Thanks!This is from an article.

Almost all English surnames can be traced back to one of the four sources:
Place names
...
Nicknames
...
Trade names
...
Father's names
Surnames meaning family relationships were the last to be common. ...
Whether common or unique, all English family names are full of history!

Answer

Oh, much better. :) The writer means that surnames that show family relationship are the common ones now. We no longer use places, professions, or nicknames to assign a surname. When the writer says "the last to be common", he or she is saying that it is the last one of the options to be common, while the others stopped being common some time ago. I hope this helps! :)

Answer

It's a weird way of writing the information.
It's saying that the time period in which place names became common last names (and the time period in which nicknames became common last names and the time period in which trade names became common last names) was earlier than the time period in which names that referenced a father's first name became common last names.*

*I'm not sure that's factually correct, but it is what the author meant.

Answer

There is not enough information here to know what that phrase means. It doesn't even seem to be a complete sentence the way it is written. Can you provide some context, such as a paragraph or two surrounding the phrase, and a general description of the subject matter?

Answer

Hi. I think your second interpretation is correct.