Just done a quick survey of the first 3 of my sons tree , (16 surnames)) 2 are patr0nymics, 1 is a nickname, 3 are occupational and 10 are place names, (only 1 being a towm place name, the rest are natural place names, anyone ever looked at their names this way?
My maiden name was Litherland, a place in Liverpool, and my mother's was Williams pretty common - I often wondered about them. I still intend to start a search of the family.