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I also thought about this before changing my last name to my fathers last name
but our culture is different and having the abtirsiino right is important

but our culture is weird and unconforming to the rest of the world.

lol back home you are just ina hebel hebel we don't have this last name or family iyo waxaas.

People had the same problem in Scandinavia 200 years ago when they had to adopt last names, but picking your grandfather's name as a last name is a bad idea, it'll end up like Denmark where half the population is named "Jensen". If everyone's surname is Maxamed then what's the point?

A better idea would be to just pick the ancestor that you normally abtiris up to (say, Ugaas-Diini for some Mareexaan here), that's what surnames are supposed to be, and just keep your abtiris as middle names. You can have an unlimited number of middle names. Sure it's weird to have 9 or 10 or even 30 middle names, but it's completely legit

People had the same problem in Scandinavia 200 years ago when they had to adopt last names, but picking your grandfather's name as a last name is a bad idea, it'll end up like Denmark where half the population is named "Jensen". If everyone's surname is Maxamed then what's the point?

A better idea would be to just pick the ancestor that you normally abtiris up to (say, Ugaas-Diini for some Mareexaan here), that's what surnames are supposed to be, and just keep your abtiris as middle names. You can have an unlimited number of middle names. Sure it's weird to have 9 or 10 or even 30 middle names, but it's completely legit

Entire thread ran by freshies except mr Dahl off course

last name as the tribal name or regional/city not bad idea. somalis did long time ago.
ive my granpa's nick name as my last name, i wouldnt change it. after 10 generation will be tribe name tho.

The Arabs kept it this way till the modern age, I don't see why Somalis need to change it if they are in Somalia.

If everyone used their tribal name as a surname then that shit would get confusing. Everyone in a tuulo would have the same surname. Not to mention people of different tribes can still have the same name e.g. Makaahiil is used by Habar Awal, Dir and Ogaadeen.

Keep the current system, who says we have to change it just because we're different?

all the elderly somali men have nicknames ..so using great grandfather or grandfathers nickname as last name is a good idea and it will reduce all the similar names we have. examples are names like:hebel gurey ,timacadde,indhoweyne,

all the elderly somali men have nicknames ..so using great grandfather or grandfathers nickname as last name is a good idea and it will reduce all the similar names we have. examples are names like:hebel gurey ,timacadde,indhoweyne,

Then you will lose your abtiris

all the elderly somali men have nicknames ..so using great grandfather or grandfathers nickname as last name is a good idea and it will reduce all the similar names we have. examples are names like:hebel gurey ,timacadde,indhoweyne,

Then you will lose your abtiris

lol no I mean just on paper for those in the west..u know it's kinda confusing with all the abdi mohammed farax, mohammed farax abdi, etc..
there is nothing unique about our names when it's put that way..

My awoowe didnt have a nick name ma ayeeyo does would i use that or ma aabes nickname

abtirs after 4th grandpa is not important.

My awoowe didnt have a nick name ma ayeeyo does would i use that or ma aabes nickname

he didn't maybe great-grandfather or sum
well my awoow has one and everyone back home just call him by his nickname and all his children and grandchildren identify them selves by using that name.
lol it doesn't have to be a nickname just a unique somali name...

Not one unique name in ma abtiris infact not even a one Somali name till you get to my qabiil

lol I thought all somalis had some unique somali names somewhere in their abtiris.. in fact most of the men I know back home have weird and funny nicknames.