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Originally Posted by Mithalwen
Even in the Shire family names have not become "fixed" as can be best seen in Sam's family tree . His uncle Andy has the surname Roper from his profession his son Frodo is Gardner, Elanor married Fastred of Greenholm and their descendents are Fairbairns.
they do illustrate the normal origins of surnames... appearance, profession, location (other than relationship to others).
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Appendix F in
ROTK touches upon the differences between Hobbit-names and those of other races.
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In the case of persons, however, Hobbit-names in the Shire and in Bree were for those days peculiar, notably in the habit that had grown up, some centuries before this time, of having inheirited names for families. Most of these surnames had obvious meanings (in the current language being derived from jesting nicknames, or from place-names, or--especially in Bree--from the names of plants and trees.)
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I would add that since surnames were a fairly new custom to the Hobbits, it would be likely that the more well-known and notable families would probably latch onto it more quickly than others. That would explain why the Gamgee family might still have been more associated with a profession.