family name
noun
the hereditary surname of a family.
a given name frequently used in a family.
QUIZZES
DO YOU KNOW THIS VOCABULARY FROM "THE HANDMAID'S TALE"?
"The Handmaid's Tale" was required reading for many of us in school. Everyone else has probably watched the very popular and addictive TV show. Do you remember this vocabulary from the book, and do you know what these terms mean?
Question 1 of 10
decorum
Origin of family name
First recorded in 1690–1700
Words nearby family name
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for family name
The writer considers the last-named forest to be that of Wede or Woden; and derives thence the family-name Weede.
His name was my family-name; he was tall and youthful, like my Captain.
Pages From an Old Volume of Life|Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
British Dictionary definitions for family name
family name
noun
a surname, esp when regarded as representing the family honour
a first or middle name frequently used in a family, often originally a surname
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012