Talk:Medferiashwork Abebe

Untitled
Please note that the names "Haile Selassie" and "Asfaw Wossen" are double worded single first names (just like "Marie Antoinette" and "Franz Joseph"). It is therefore incorrect to edit them as "Selassie" and "Wossen" as these are parts of their first names and are not their surnames. It is common usage among Rastafarian circles to refer to Emperor Haile Selassie as "Selassie" but that is not correct in Ethiopian usage, and comes from the mistaken belief that "Selassie" was the Emperor's last name. Emperor Haile Selassie's last name was "Makonnen" which he dropped usage of once he became Emperor as was traditional. Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen's last name was "Haile Selassie" which he also dropped upon being proclaimed Emperor in Exile. Ethiopians do not have family names, bur rather use their father's first name as their last name.