Sir, Name?

The secretary of the head office came into my office with a pen and notepad and said, "Please tell me your father's name." At first I thought she must be doing some sort of sociological study, and figured it wouldn't do any harm, per se, to tell her my father's name, but asked, "Uh, why?" She explained that she was making some sort of list. The gears and cogs in my head were turning when it suddenly became clear; what we would call their "family name" in Ethiopia is their father's given name. In other words, it's as if Pretty Woman starred "Julia Robert". Sometimes a little cultural background goes a long way. So I made the mental leap and wrote down my surname, which, I suppose, is my father's name anyway.