Family name distributions: Master equation approach

2007/10/19 by Seung Ki Baek, Hoang Anh Tuan Kiet, Beom Jun Kim · 6 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Mathematics · Physics and Astronomy · #Census and Population Estimation #Forensic and Genetic Research #Genetic diversity and population structure #physics.bio-ph #physics.soc-ph

paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physreve.76.046113

published as Physical Review E 76, 046113 (2007) · 7 pages, 8 figures

openalex publication_date 2007/10/19 · arxiv created 2008/07/14 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

Although cumulative family name distributions in many countries exhibit power-law forms, there also exist counterexamples. The origin of different family name distributions across countries is discussed analytically in the framework of a population dynamics model. Combined with empirical observations made, it is suggested that those differences in distributions are closely related to the rate of appearance of new family names.

Citations

• Power laws, Pareto distributions and Zipf's law

Cited by

• Testing a priority-based queue model with Linux command histories
• An index of Chinese surname distribution and its implications for population dynamics
• Percolation on hyperbolic lattices
• Unravelling historical, taxonomic, and cultural influences on the etymology of scientific names across Animalia
• A study of surnames in china through isonymy
• Evolution of popularity in given names

Related

• At the boundary between biological and cultural evolution: The origin of surname distributions
• Universal features of surname distribution in a subsample of a growing population
• Can we track the geography of surnames based on bibliographic data?
• Barriers to gene flow estimated by surname distribution in Italy
• Founders, Drift, and Infidelity: The Relationship between Y Chromosome Diversity and Patrilineal Surnames