Quote: (10-16-2014 07:13 AM)Krusyos Wrote:
The funny thing with my last name is that back in Poland, some petty nobles had the name as well as a clan of Jews. It'll be interesting to see which one I am.
The funny thing is that we are basically all descended from royalty, nobility, etc.
There is a Chinese saying I believe, that no one has been poor for 3 generations. Because who would marry and have kids with the poor son of a poor father?
In Europe, before the modern era, you see that throughout history, the poor have died off and the rich have replenished society. Names that were 1,000 years ago only among the upper classes, 500 years ago became common among the lower classes. The rich had higher fertility than the poor, and the poor died off, leaving those from the upper classes who couldn't cut it to become tomorrows laborers, etc. Obviously now the poor have higher fertility than the rich so the current situation is quite different.
They say every single European is a direct descendant of Charlemagne, for instance. One of 200 people in the world is a direct descendant of Genghis Khan.