Board Thread:Speculation House/@comment-24.247.91.107-20140511154823/@comment-10390252-20140724083511

Regarding last names, I'm still not convinced they are family names.

In some cultures, surnames are a name chosen either by the person or by someone in a position of authority over them to describe some aspect of their personality or outstanding act. These are unique to the individual and are not passed on unless they are associated with some hereditary title. This pattern is particularly true of semitic cultures like the Jews and Arabs.

I suspect that Ruby adopted the surname 'Rose' as a tribute to her late mother. Similarly, Yang either adopted the surname or was given the surname 'Xiao Long' (Dragon) by her father or tutors as a reference to her Semblance and fierce nature. If this is the naming pattern in Vytal, Ruby would technically be 'Ruby Rose Summersdaughter' (nordic form) or Ruby Rose beget of Summer (semitic form).