Page 68 - Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS)

CHAPTER 3

FINGERPRINTS ARE UNIQUE

3.1 NAMES
What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
—Shakespeare

Who are you?
People can be identified by an assigned or innate form of classification. One
example is the name of their family, or surname (e.g., Smith), which can indi-
cate those persons to whom they are related. The surname may also provide
information about their background or the geographic area in which their
ancestors lived. Names such as Giuliani and Salamone may point to family
origins on the Italian peninsula; Zahurak and Kopak may indicate eastern
European ancestry. The surnames Der and Wong point to China and the
Orient, Biarnes to France, and Abouelmagd to the Middle East.
A few generations ago, people claimed their ancestral home to be within a
few miles of where they were born. As commerce improved, so did the oppor-
tunity to emigrate to other lands. Immigrants to the United States were wel-
comed with the salute “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses
yearning to breathe free.” This migration of peoples caused the association
with an ancestral homeland to become more remote. The vast majority of
Americans who trace their ancestry to a foreign nation have only a distant
connection to the country of origin of their surname.
The first, or given, name provides a unique identifier that distinguishes one
person from other members of the same family. Rudy Giuliani is thus distin-
guished from Edward Giuliani, Steve Zahurak from Bill Zahurak, and Joyce Der
from Jane Der. Surnames and given names may also provide information about
some of the person’s physical features. Names like Rudy, Edward, Steve, and
Bill are male names, just as Joyce and Jane are female names. It would not be
unreasonable to assume that someone named Steve is a man, and thus a mental
framework or picture of that person would begin to develop. As a man, Steve
would be expected to have male characteristics such as a deep voice, facial hair,