1.What are common names where you come from?
Every village or city has common names, and usually they are the patron saints names. In mine, the first name for women is Maria de la Serra, but Serra is short name for it. And for men, Maties is the principal name. I don't know any short for it, or nickname or pet name because is a very seriously name.
4.Some English names refer to trades or professions, such as Butcher or Baker. Does your name mean anything? Are there any names in your country that do?
In my country there are a lot of names refered to professions. My surname is Sabaté (from Sabater). Its English translation it's “shoemaker”, so it refers to the people who worked making shoes. There are a lot of similar surnames like: Fuster, Carnicer o Forner. So this is the evidence that my family come from normal class, and I don't have blue blood in my veins. :-)))