# Occupational Surnames **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 27, 2023, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupational-surnames/987695 "2023-07-27T18:47:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 10
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupational-surnames/987695/10 "2023-07-27T19:48:06Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’ve heard of a region in India where surnames are only just now coming into use, and which now has a Mr. Javacoder. The islands of Micronesia didn’t use last names until the concept was introduced by Westerners. A lot of folks from the island of Kosrae decided just to repeat their first names. There was once a photo in the government newsletter with the caption, “From left to right: Louey Louey, Asher Asher, and Jack J. Jack.” (We were afraid to ask what the J stood for.) Louey Louey was my neighbor and so I had a few stories in which he featured. ([The subduing of the coconut crab](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amusing-kitchen-accidents/925829/33) being one). After a few years living in Micronesia the repeated names sounded totally normal to me. It was only when people started giving me weird looks because I was talking matter-of-factly about Louey Louey that I remembered how strange that was. ETA: The above is tangential, sorry. Modern occupational last names might include Programmer, Therapist, Controller, or Ciyeeo (CEO). --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/occupational-surnames/987695)._