surname
/ˈsɝˌneɪm/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.50 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
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).
noun
Synonym of epithet, an additional name, particularly those derived from a birthplace, quality, or achievement.
Obsolete
Example Sentences
- "James is my first name, and Smith is my surname."
- "In late yeeres Surnames have beene given for Christian names among vs, and no where else in Christendom."
- "The Norman Conquest...brought with it the novelty of family nomenclature, that is to say, the use of hereditary surnames."
- "Barsabas (whose syrname was Iustus)."
- "My sirname is Peace-Maker, one that is but poorely regarded in England."
- "To his sur-name Coriolanus longs more pride Then pitty to our Prayers."
Etymology
Inherited 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.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: surname, surnum, supernōmen, suprānōmen
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈsɝˌneɪm/
- British English: /ˈsɜːˌneɪm/
Usage
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Phrases
occupational surname
Wiktionary appendix of surnames