From there to forever

Not necessarily. A toponymic surname often marks where someone lived, but it could just as easily point to where they were born, held land, or did business, even without ever living there. Merchants sometimes took the name of a city where they traded, using it to signal connection rather than an actual home.

No. Topographic and habitational names are both toponymic, but they work differently. A topographic surname describes a landscape feature, like a hill, ford, or wood, while a habitational surname names an actual settlement, like a town or village, that already had its own name before anyone took it.

Land signalled status. Medieval nobles often took the name of the estate or territory they held, turning a toponymic surname into a public marker of rank and feudal power, not just a location. Naming yourself after your land was a direct way of announcing exactly what you controlled.

Yes. Names like York, Hamilton, and Newton started as toponymic surnames and are still common family names now. They no longer describe where someone currently lives, since the place-based meaning faded once the name was passed down as a fixed, inherited identity across generations.