endling

American  

[end ling] / ˈɛnd lɪŋ /

noun

1. an individual living thing that is the last survivor of its species or subspecies and whose death consequently means the extinction of that species or subspecies.

   The endling of the once plentiful passenger pigeons was Martha, who died in a zoo in 1914.

2. a person who is the last living member of a family line and whose death consequently means the end of that lineage.

   Sadly, Kenneth, childless and himself an only child, is soon to leave this world, alone and an endling.

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Etymology

Origin of endling

First recorded in 1996 in the correspondence in the British journal Nature; end ¹ ( def. ) + -ling ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

In the parlance of 2022, Farrow's unicorn is an "endling": the last of her kind.

From Salon • Nov. 29, 2022

One species has long been extinct — and another lineage famously ended in 2012, with the death of endling Lonesome George.

From Washington Post • Jun. 15, 2022

The thought of being the final one — the endling — fills her with desperate loneliness, and she hopes a few of these animals may still exist on a legendary island.

From Washington Post • Jul. 10, 2018

And she may be the last of her kind: an endling.

From Washington Post • Jul. 10, 2018

She’s an endling — not just the last of her family but the last of her species.

From Washington Post • May 29, 2018