What Is The Origin Of The Surname

Surnames were used to describe where someone was from or their trade.
John living near the woods became John Wood.
Paul the archer became Paul Fletcher

As populations increased, single names were no longer adequate to identify a person. Local people tended to be known by trade names, e.g. Miller, Smith, Farmer, while travelled people were often known by their place of origin, e.g. John of Gaunt, Malcolm of Chester, latterly the 'of' part would be dropped, to give habitational names such as Jack London.