surname

surname

synonyms, antonyms, definitions, examples & translations of surname in English

English Online Dictionary. What means surname‎? What does surname mean?

English

Alternative forms

  • sirname (archaic)
  • sur-name (obsolete)

Etymology

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).

Pronunciation

  • (US) enPR: sûrʹnām'; IPA(key): /ˈsɝˌneɪm/
  • (UK) enPR: sûʹnām'; IPA(key): /ˈsɜːˌneɪm/
  • Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)neɪm

Noun

surname (plural surnames)

  1. (obsolete) Synonym of epithet, an additional name, particularly those derived from a birthplace, quality, or achievement.
  2. (obsolete) Synonym of nickname, an additional name given to a person, place, or thing, a byname.
  3. The name a person shares with other members of that person's family, distinguished from that person's given name(s); a family name.
  4. (Classical studies) The cognomen of Roman names.
  5. (Scotland, obsolete) A clan.
    • 1455 in J. D. Marwick, Charters of Edinburgh (1871), 79:
      The surnam and nerrest of blude to the said Williame.

Usage notes

The term "surname" may be used to translate terms from non-English names which carry additional shades of meaning, most notably in the case of Roman cognomens. In fact, the nomen was the surname as the word is commonly understood today but the terms were first applied when surname was still used in the sense of "additional" or "added" name: the cognomen was added to the nomen to show the branch of the family involved. (The modern translation of a similar distinction in ancient Chinese names customarily uses ancestral name and clan name instead and typically speaks of surnames only once the two merged into a single and commonly-employed family name.)

Both surname and last name are extremely common in all dialects of English, the former being somewhat more preferred in the UK and the latter in the US. However, because of the cultural and gendered associations involved with both terms, the use of family name is increasingly preferred in multicultural contexts.

Icelandic patronymics or matronymics (see Icelandic name) probably should not be regarded as true surnames.

Synonyms

  • (family name): See Thesaurus:surname

Hypernyms

  • name

Hyponyms

  • bride's name, maiden name (surname prior to marriage); patronym, patronymic (a surname specifically referencing one's father's given name); matronym, matronymic (a surname specifically referencing one's mother's given name)

Coordinate terms

  • See given name; middle name; epithet, cognomen, nickname

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

surname (third-person singular simple present surnames, present participle surnaming, simple past and past participle surnamed)

  1. (transitive) To give a surname to.
  2. (transitive) To call by a surname.

Translations

Statistics

The most common surnames in the United States, as of the 2010 census (with number of persons bearing said surname):

1. Smith; 2,442,977

2. Johnson; 1,932,812

3. Williams; 1,625,252

4. Brown; 1,437,026

5. Jones; 1,425,470

6. Garcia; 1,166,120

7. Miller; 1,161,437

8. Davis; 1,116,357

9. Rodriguez; 1,094,924

10. Martinez; 1,060,159

See also

  • Name change on Wikipedia
  • Wiktionary appendix of surnames

References

Anagrams

  • Mansure, manures

Middle English

Alternative forms

  • surename, sourname, sorname, syrname, sire name

Etymology

Partial calque of Old French surnoun, from Late Latin supernōmen, suprānōmen; equivalent to sur- +‎ name. Forms beginning with sir-, syr-, etc. represent reanalysis of the first element as sire.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈsurnaːm(ə)/, /ˈsirnaːm(ə)/

Noun

surname (plural surnames)

  1. epithet, nickname
    • c. 1400, "St. John Baptist", 928 in W. M. Metcalfe, Legends of the saints: in the Scottish dialect of the fourteenth century (1896), II 249:
  2. surname, family name
  3. alias, appellation
    • c. 1395, Wycliff's Bible, Ecclus. XLVII 19:

Descendants

  • English: surname

References

  • “surnāme, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

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This article based on an article on Wiktionary. The list of authors can be seen in the page history there. The original work has been modified. This article is distributed under the terms of this license.