last name

The last name is, for purposes of uniformity, associated with the family name of a person whether that occurs before or after the given name. In certain African and East Asian countries, including China, Japan, and the Koreas, it is customary to place the family name first; in these cases the so-called last name actually occurs first.

Family-name function determines this field, independently of the order used in speech or writing. A family name placed first still belongs here.

The first name field identifies the given name. The final written part of a person's name is not automatically the family name.