W3C information on naming conventions around the world

I thought this document was very useful reading.
It doesn't address the problem of conventions changing over time, which is something we have to deal with all the time, but it does give a number of good examples from current practice.

The variety never ceases to amaze me...

http://www.w3.org/International/questions/qa-personal-names

Fascinating stuff, Harald. This document shows clearly what some of the curators have been discussing for months. There are an amazing number of ways to present names in different cultures, and they don't all fit into the model First Name, Last Name.

Great link, many thanks.