WHAT ABOUT ME? - Unit 1.7

[Josep Rossell]

In my country there are some common names, but they change from time to time. My first name, Josep (like Joan, Jordi or Pere) was very used when I was born, but now quite a few parents call his sons Marc, Alex or Pol. I never was a short nickname. My friends call me Josep, but my schoolmates didn't so
My family name, Rossell, isn't very common. In my town, I know three families with this surname.
There is a town in Valencia with my name, but I suppose isn't the place where my family come from.
I think "Rossell" derive from "Rosselló" the name of a French region that once was catalan.
Some catalan names refer to professions, such as Fuster, Sabater, Ferrer. Others refer to geography, like Prats, Rius, Puig or Pla.
In Catalunya, as Spain, the more common family names are Garcia, Gonzalez, Fernandez. This surnames refer to first names. The ending "ez" means "son of" (son of Garcia, son of Gonzalo, son of Fernando).
I usually use the first name. But at work or in formal situations, people call me by my surname.
In catalan we have "En" a very useful title. Suitable for all the situations.
Common pet names in Catalan are "carinyo", "mac@", "xat@".

[Admin]

Very interesting Josep. I never knew that the -ez suffix meant 'son of'. So, it's like Irish and Scottish where Mc and Mac mean 'son of' as in Mc Dermott. Also, 0' as in O'Donnell means 'of'. You learn something new every day!