Parachoukalia arise to help differentiate people within a town or island from one another.

In a town like Karavas, for example, there may have been 6-7 George Tzortopoulos's living in the village at one time. A system had to be devised to determine who exactly was being refered to. Hence George Tzortzopoulos "tou Hihli", or "o Kapetanios" etc. (See other entries for Tzortzopoulos.)

My first grandmother - Georgia - was a Mentis. The Mentis's came from Laffonisi - and there were very few of them on the island of Kythera - and in Karavas.

No need for differentiation here.

The result was that the Mentis's were never given a parachoukli - and were always referred to only as "O Mentis" - of "I Mentitha."