This is still pretty common in India, especially the south. My "last name" for instance, was just my father's first (and only) name. Particularly for people of

This is still pretty common in India, especially the south. My "last name" for instance, was just my father's first (and only) name. Particularly for people of my generation, who had to grow a last name because the West required one. That, or some people use their caste(Shetty, Singh, Patel etc) or village name.