family name
Americannoun
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family names
plural
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the hereditary surname of a family.
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a given name frequently used in a family.
noun
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a surname, esp when regarded as representing the family honour
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a first or middle name frequently used in a family, often originally a surname
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of family name
First recorded in 1690–1700
Compare meaning
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"My flat's car park was under water -- it never floods, even in 2011" when hundreds of people died across Thailand in heavy deluges, he said, asking AFP not to publish his family name.
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
"One Dumfries is a Scottish town, another Dumfries became a Caribbean family name," she said.
From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026
The paternal great-grandmother of goalie Matt Turner fled religious persecution in Lithuania, with his Jewish ancestors changing their family name from Turnovski to Turner when they arrived at Ellis Island.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2026
Michel, an 87-year-old resident, who also did not want to give his family name, recalled the "police checks" and "blocked roads" during the ayatollah's stay.
From Barron's ● Mar. 3, 2026
No child of hers was going to forget her family name and think she was nothing but a kissing cousin to an orangutan.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
