I am even more confused now. :o)

My father's surname was 'SKOGEN' My mother's surname was 'HUTCHINSON'

BARRY SKOGEN - father (middle name is ALBERT)
JOYCE HUTCHINSON - mother (middle name is CAROL)

When my mother married my father, her name became JOYCE SKOGEN.

Children:

Tracy Skogen
Tony Skogen
et al

I don't understand your 'initial' remark... Here, typically (notice I wrote typically), all children take on the lastname (surname or family name) of the father. Boys retain the same lastname for their entire life. Women only keep their father's lastname until they marry (although many women now keep their maiden name and don't take on their husband's lastname but the children usually do - or they hyphenate their lastname and sometimes the children do as well).



>>>I understand gender specific firstnames, but not surnames. What surname do the children take on then? How does a surname get passed from generation to generation?
>>>
>>>
>>Children get their father's surname (it's called here initial, though kids here don't inherit father's name).
>>
>>E.g.

>>Last Name     First Name        Surname         Gender
>>Ivanov        Ivan              Ivanovich       male
>>Ivanova       Ol'ga             Ivanovna        female

>
>Actually, looks like I'm wrong in understanding of "Surname" meaning. Is it an equavalent of a Last Name? If yes, then my example is wrong. I was talking about "family name" or "father's name" or what's the right term in English?
>
>In Hebrew it would be "ben/bat - son/daughter of"
>
>In USA it is not used, AFAIK. (only in the form of initial, may be)
>
>In Russia it's used in all official documents.