family name

Save This Word!

See synonyms for family name on Thesaurus.com

noun

the hereditary surname of a family.

a given name frequently used in a family.

COMPARE MEANINGS

Click for a side-by-side comparison of meanings. Use the word comparison feature to learn the differences between similar and commonly confused words.

QUIZ

GOOSES. GEESES. I WANT THIS QUIZ ON PLURAL NOUNS!

Test how much you really know about regular and irregular plural nouns with this quiz.

Question 1 of 9

Which of the following nouns has an irregular plural form?

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of family name

First recorded in 1690–1700

Words nearby family name

family hour, family jewels, family leave, family man, family medicine, family name, family of curves, family physician, family plan, family planning, family practice

How to use family name in a sentence

Names appear in the database as they do in court documents, meaning that some follow the Western naming convention of first name followed by family name, and others appear with the family name first, as is standard in China.
We built a database to understand the China Initiative. Then the government changed its records.|Eileen Guo, Jess Aloe, Karen Hao|December 2, 2021|MIT Technology Review
Beyond that, it’s not clear what his pitch to New Yorkers will be beyond that family name.
2021 is probably less-fertile terrain for a celebrity governor than 2003 was|Philip Bump|April 8, 2021|Washington Post
The note, which the New York Times published Monday, described how “embarrassing” he is to the family name and accused him of turning his back on Christian principles.
Political divisions are increasingly stronger than family bonds|Eugene Scott|February 17, 2021|Washington Post
Today, the artist’s studio is closed to visitors at the Richmond museum that bears his family name — the Valentine.
Richmond sculptor Edward Valentine created many of the statues that defined Lost Cause mythology. Now his family’s museum is confronting the legacy.|Gregory S. Schneider|January 2, 2021|Washington Post

Those family names may sound odd, but their members include some commonly known types.
Some deep-seafloor microbes still alive after 100 million years!|Carolyn Gramling|September 1, 2020|Science News For Students
Everywhere I go, ‘Hey Cartman, you must like Family Guy, right?’
Trolls and Martyrdom: Je Ne Suis Pas Charlie|Arthur Chu|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The CDA was passed not in the name of censorship but in the name of protecting children from stumbling across sexual material.
How the PC Police Threaten Free Speech|Nick Gillespie|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The third suspect, an 18-year-old named Hamyd Mourad, who turned himself in, is part of the same extended family.
France Mourns—and Hunts|Nico Hines, Christopher Dickey|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Saved from the public gallows, Weeks was virtually exiled from the city, and wound up in Mississippi, where he raised a family.
New York’s Most Tragic Ghost Loves Minimalist Swedish Fashion|Nina Strochlic|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
A spokesman for Lewisham council said last year that it would be forced to act if the family returned to Britain.
Britain May Spy on Preschoolers Searching for Potential Jihadis|Nico Hines|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
And that was that if he and his wife were to ever live together again and be happy, the family were to be kept out of it.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux
In pursuing his alchemical researches, he discovered Prussian blue, and the animal oil which bears his name.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
Elyon is the name of an ancient Phœnician god, slain by his son El, no doubt the “first-born of death” in Job xviii.
Solomon and Solomonic Literature|Moncure Daniel Conway
“This house must have been the hotel of some distinguished family, Baron; it is nobly proportioned,” said David Arden.
Checkmate|Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
What course was taken to supply that assembly when any noble family became extinct?
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift

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

family name

COMPARE MEANINGS

Origin of family name

Words nearby family name

Words related to family name

How to use family name in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for family name