Can You Discuss The Origins Of Surname In Detail.

This is a very interesting question.We all have surnames but how many of us have actually thought when and where the concept of surname originated. How did this whole idea evolve? We know that it allows us to distinguish between two people but most of us do not know about its history.
It is said the surnames were actually derived from four different sources. These sources were as follows
Patronymic – surnames were derived from the first name of father
Surnames were derived from locality or place
Occupation or social status were used as surnames
Nicknames describing person or personality were used to distinguish people.

Some examples are as follows
Patronymic
Peterson - son of Peter (Swedish)
Petersen - son of Peter (Danish)
O'Reilly - grandson of Reilly (Ireland)

Surnames were derived from locality or place
Cliff - steep hill
Ashley – describes a field surrounded by ash trees

Occupation or social status
Knight - knighthood conferred by the king
Smith – blacksmith

Nicknames used as surnames. Examples are given below.
Small - Body size
Armstrong - strong arms
The most interesting part is that the spelling of various surnames was not fixed till the 20th century.  Before that two similar surnames were spelt in various ways depending on the person.

The origin of the surname: Grosdidier is Alsace, France.