A surname or family name is a name added to a given name. In many cases, a surname is a family name and many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name". In the western hemisphere, it is commonly synonymous with last name because it is usually placed at the end of a person's given name.
In most Spanish-speaking and Portuguese-speaking countries, two or more last names (or surnames) may be used. In China, Hungary, Japan, Korea, Madagascar, Taiwan, Vietnam, and parts of India, the family name is placed before a person's given name.
The style of having both a family name (surname) and a given name (forename) is far from universal. In many countries, it is common for ordinary people to have only one name or mononym.
The concept of a "surname" is a relatively recent historical development, evolving from a medieval naming practice called a "byname". Based on an individual's occupation or area of residence, a byname would be used in situations where more than one person had the same name.
Kafka is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Kafka is a 1991 mystery thriller film directed by Steven Soderbergh. Ostensibly a biopic, based on the life of Franz Kafka, the film blurs the lines between fact and Kafka's fiction (most notably The Castle and The Trial), creating a Kafkaesque atmosphere. It was written by Lem Dobbs, and stars Jeremy Irons in the title role, with Theresa Russell, Ian Holm, Jeroen Krabbé, Joel Grey, Armin Mueller-Stahl, and Alec Guinness.
Released after Soderbergh's critically acclaimed debut Sex, Lies, and Videotape it was the first of what would be a series of low-budget box-office disappointments. It has since become a cult film, being compared to Terry Gilliam's Brazil and David Cronenberg's Naked Lunch (all of which star Ian Holm).
Set in the city of Prague in 1919, Kafka tells the tale of an insurance worker who gets involved with an underground group after one of his co-workers is murdered. The underground group, responsible for bombings all over town, attempts to thwart a secret organization that controls the major events in society. He eventually penetrates the secret organization in order to confront them.
Messin' is a rock album released in 1973 by Manfred Mann's Earth Band.
Messin' followed Glorified Magnified and preceded Solar Fire, and like all Earth Band albums contains a mixture of originals and covers (see track listing below).
"Buddah" also appeared on the Vertigo budget sampler double album Suck It And See, along with tracks by then-labelmates Kraftwerk, Jade Warrior and the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, amongst others.
The album was produced by Manfred Mann and engineered by John Edwardes at Maximum Sound Studios, London in 1973.
For the United States release, the album was re-titled Get Your Rocks Off and the track "Pretty Good" was included in place of "Black And Blue", seemingly because the latter was about slavery and deemed unsuitable for the US market. Both tracks were included on the 1998 re-mastered re-issue.