surname

Meaning

1. The portion of a person's name that is generally hereditary or treated as an indicator of a person's family, which may be shared with other members of the family, or otherwise derived from their names in some fashion; distinguished from that person's given name(s).
2. (obsolete) Synonym of epithet, an additional name, particularly those derived from a birthplace, quality, or achievement.
3. (obsolete) Synonym of nickname, an additional name given to a person, place, or thing, a byname.
4. The cognomen of Roman names.
5. (obsolete) A clan.

family name

last name

clan name

accuse falsely

give a surname

Frequency

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈsɝˌneɪm/

From Middle English surname, a partial calque of Old French surnum, surnoun (“surname; nickname”) (whence Middle English surnoun), from Late Latin supernōmen, suprānōmen (“surname”), from super- (“over, above, beyond”) and nōmen (“name”), equivalent to sur- + name.

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