How do naming conventions differ dramatically across world cultures?

The answer

Naming conventions reveal deep cultural structures. Icelanders use patronymics - Bjork Gudmundsdottir means 'Bjork, daughter of Gudmundur,' and phone books are organized by first name. In much of Indonesia, many people are mononymous (single-named), including former president Suharto. Spanish-speaking countries use two surnames: the father's first surname followed by the mother's (Garcia Lopez). Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese names place the family name first (Li Wei, not Wei Li). Ethiopian names consist of the person's name followed by the father's name - there are no family surnames. In Myanmar, names carry no family connection at all. Some cultures change names at life transitions: many Native American traditions involve receiving new names at puberty. In Hungary and Japan, family names precede given names even in their own languages, causing frequent confusion in international contexts.