Why Gared has a Surname?
If Gared is a lowborn, why does he have a Surname? Isn't surnames only for highborns?
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If Gared is a lowborn, why does he have a Surname? Isn't surnames only for highborns?
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His uncle is a Castellan so that's probably why.
No....
Just Googled it, looks like smallfolk usually don't bother with surnames as there's no need but there are no laws to say that the smallfolk cannot give themselves surnames, maybe if there was another 'Gared' in his village. Or perhaps the Tuttles are descended from noble stock who have fallen very far?
I just believed that only highborns could have one.
Nope anyone can have a surname.
For instance the owner of the Inn at the Crossroads is Masha Heddle and Gendry's boss is Tobho Mott.
It's possible that an ancestor, maybe his grandfather, was a knight. Knights often give themselves a surname when they are raised to knighthood. Then, his ancestor passed the name down.
There are a few smallfolk with family names in the books. Mostly hedgeknights, but there are a few others. Janos Slynt, for example, had that name before being ennobled. Which either suggests there are unwritten rules or none at all, with most commoners not giving a rat's arse and simply sticking with the structure "Wossname of Suchandsuch, sprog of Somebloke" because that's all they need.
Gared has lowborn origins, but he isn't a peasant at the start of the game. He is a squire, which sets him socially above anyone except knights and lords, which means probably about 90% of Westeros is considered below him on the social ladder. Also his uncle is a Castellan. The Tuttles are basically smallfolk that have risen well above their former station.
In any case surnames appear to be common amongst the poor in Westeros.
Yes. http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Smallfolk
Yes, but there could be a reason why they have surnames.
Or there could be no reason.
The point is surnames are not limited to the nobility.
Yes, but a commoner wouldn't just have a surname for no reason.
http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Smallfolk
Knighthood. Hedge knights were usually born as smallfolk, though higher positions are also possible. For example, Ser Duncan the Tall, who even rose to the position of Lord Commander of the Kingsguard of King Aegon V Targaryen.
Guards. It is possible for smallfolk to join the City Watch in King's Landing or the Night's Watch with the possibility to occupy a commanding position.
Smallfolk are also allowed to join the Citadel of Oldtown, to study to become a maester.
The Faith of the Seven allows all to become Septons or Septa's.
The Poor Fellows, a military order of the Faith Militant, accept members regardlessly of their inheritance or their sex
There's usually a reason, but it doesn't have to be a grand or glorious one. Mance Rayder got his last name as a baby. It's not because of anything he did.
Someone could just make something up. "Oh when he was born he cried so hard he woke up the cows in the pasture. So we call him Garth Cowwaker!"
Anyways the question was "Aren't surnames only for nobility" and the answer is "No. Smallfolk can have surnames too."
That's a nickname, not a surname. And when smallfolk rise up in the world, they're not really considered smallfolk anymore.
It was a nickname. Until everyone started calling him that.
And then when he had a kid he named him Jon Cowwaker. Now it's a surname.
Because Tuttles have distant Tully roots
Surnames often start as nicknames.
Example from ASOIAF: Lollys Stokeworth has a bastard son that Bronn names Tyrion "Tanner" because she was raped behind a tanner's shop. "Tanner" is his recognized surname.
Almost every surname was a nickname. The exceptions are usually things like patronymic surnames like mine.
Probably they all took on the name duncan chose
Probably because of Duncan. It'd make sense for a castellan to have a last name.