In a broader sense, how come there’s only a small set of “descriptor names”? For instance, there are plenty of Armstrongs, but there’s no Legstrong. There are plenty of Goldsmiths, but there’s no Bronzesmith. There are plenty of Shoemakers, but there’s no Glovemaker.
How did only a small set of such names make the cut?
In:
Most “immigration” related surnames were simply based off your profession, either because the family didn’t have a last name or were trying to hide it (in the case of refugees)
There weren’t any bronze” smiths, they were either blacksmiths or goldsmiths (jewelers) which was frequently shortened to Smith. (And why there’s so many people with the last names smith)
Armstrong specifically is a bastardization of a Scottish name that means someone with strong arms loosely translated. So it’s an English version of a Scottish saying which is why it’s so out of place. It was a nickname of a title thought to have originated from the king after Victories in battle.
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