surname

Definition

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).

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.

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."