No surname? How Ethiopian names work, and how many languages and scripts are behind them

If you have filled out a form abroad, you know the problem: Ethiopian names do not have a family surname. How names work - A person's given name is followed by the father's given name. Official records often add the paternal grandfather's name too. For example: Tsehay Berhanu Abebe, where Berhanu is her father's name and Abebe her grandfather's. - Relatives therefore do not share a family name. - Women generally keep their own names after marriage, because the second name is not a surname. - In the diaspora, people often turn the father's or grandfather's name into an official surname. This can cause confusion with records back home. - Some of Ethiopia's more than eighty ethnic groups have traditionally used different systems. Languages and script - Amharic is the working language of the federal government and a lingua franca. - The Ge'ez script (fidel) is a syllabic script: each symbol represents a consonant plus a vowel. It has about 33 basic characters, each in 7 forms. - Ge'ez the ancient language and Amharic are sister languages, not parent and child. Your turn: how did you handle your name on a visa or bank form, what is the story behind your own name, and what would you want foreigners to know about how to address you?