Mr. Smith, This is Mr. Wang
The world’s most popular surnames
Family name
Origin/Meaning
No. 1 name in…
Rank in U.S.
Smith
metal worker
australia, England, Scotland
1
Jones
Son of Jon (God is gracious)
Wales
5
Wilson
Son of Will (resolute protector)
northern ireland
10
Hernandez
Son of Hernando (journey)
mexico
15
martin
from mars (Roman god of war)
france
17
Gonzales
Son of Gonzalo (battle)
argentina, Chile, Paraguay
23
murphy
Sea warrior
ireland
58
Hansen
Son of Hans (German form of John) nor way
193
Wang
King
China
438
Rossi
Son of Rosso (red haired)
italy
1,263
Korhonen
deaf person
finland
33,020
“There! maybe this will shut you up,”
she said calmly, holding the money out to her
daughter.
The daughter took the money, closed her
hand over it, and pursed her lips.
“and now you’d better explain where you
got hold of this money,” she said.
The old woman said nothing.
“you squirreled it away, is that it? from
the housekeeping, i suppose? my own mother!
The person who should be a model of selfless…
What’s up?”
The train came to a halt.
“We’ve arrived,” shouted Strokotov.
“Quick—get out! The train only stops for three
minutes. Hurry up! Kyate—your cardboard box!
maman—don’t forget your parcel.”
“What a quick journey!” said the old wom-
an, cheering up.
“A Family Journey.” Born into an esteemed St.
Petersburg family in 1872, Teffi (née Nadezhda
Aleksandrovna Lokhvitskaya) and her three
sisters became writers. In her one-act play of 1907,
The Woman’s Question, the author offered two
possibilities for the origin of her name—a variation
of a friend who was called “Steffi” by his servant,
and the Rudyard Kipling verse: “Taffy was a
Walesman/ Taffy was a thief.” Teffi was so popular
in prerevolutionary Russia that candy and perfume
bore her name. She died in 1952.
