surname
Americannoun
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surnames
plural
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Also called last name. the name that a person has in common with other family members, as distinguished from a first name or given name; family name.
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a name added to a person's name, as one indicating a circumstance of birth or some characteristic or achievement; epithet.
verb (used with object)
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surnames,
present (3rd person singular)
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surnamed,
past participle, past
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surnaming
present participle
noun
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Also called: last name. second name. a family name as opposed to a first or Christian name
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(formerly) a descriptive epithet attached to a person's name to denote a personal characteristic, profession, etc; nickname
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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surnamesimple
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surnamessimple
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have surnamedperfect
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has surnamedperfect
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am surnamingprogressive
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are surnamingprogressive
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is surnamingprogressive
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have been surnamingperfect progressive
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has been surnamingperfect progressive
Past
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surnamedsimple
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had surnamedperfect
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was surnamingprogressive
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were surnamingprogressive
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had been surnamingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of surname
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English (noun); see sur- 1, name; modeled on Old French surnom
Compare meaning
How does surname compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A surname is a person’s last name, or family name. Smith is a popular surname in the U.S., while Dieng is a popular surname in Senegal. Your surname is your last name. A surname can be Smith, Jones, Johnson, Giacometti — any name that someone gets from their family. The word surname derives from sur “above" + name. The term surname was first used by feudal lords, who adopted the name of their property as their family name. A surname can be derived from a place name (e.g., London) or a trade (e.g., Schneider means "tailor" in German).
Vocabulary lists containing surname
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This Week in Words: March 30–April 5, 2019
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"Names/Nombres" by Julia Alvarez
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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.
See Examples For:
I asked him if he’d seen the post Eatherly had made prior to the shooting about how his child’s mother wants to change her son’s surname because of how Chud had tarnished it.
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026
"Tearing our hair out and burying ourselves in the ground -- that's not our way. We are optimists," Vadym, who declined to give his surname, told AFP.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
The surname debate can bring out the creative side in some.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
Victoria - the BBC has agreed to not include her surname - 33, said her five-year-old daughter had "shot up" in size and needed more clothes for the new term.
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026
When he left us she bid him goodbye using his surname, with neither irony nor derision.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
Family members, now also bearing surnames like Kellermann, Millhiser and Richards, had flown and driven in from all around the country.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
While nearly 80% of women in opposite-sex marriages in the U.S. take on their spouse’s last name, others are turning to custom blended surnames, pitch decks or athletic tournaments to settle the debate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
The Enthusiasm Society, whose members are known by their surnames, recruits Saxberger to join and sets about announcing itself to the world via an evening of performed monologues and poetry.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
For more than a decade, Hannah had been known by two surnames.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
In the paragraph below is a list of around 250 surnames, all taken at random from the Manhattan phone book.
From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell
On recruiting websites, a seafarer surnamed Wang posted that he was recently on the Catalina 7 between last May and this March, traveling between Southeast Asia and China.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
In Beijing, a man surnamed Liu had worked for 15 years collecting map data for a Chinese tech company.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 2026
A handbag seller surnamed Zhuang told AFP that while her small stall had not been directly hit by Trump's tariffs, she "definitely" felt the ripple effects as price-conscious consumers pulled back on spending.
From Barron's ● Apr. 23, 2026
"No one wants a war," said a woman surnamed Chen, whose guesthouse and eatery have a view of Xiamen's shiny skyscrapers.
From Barron's ● Nov. 11, 2025
Gildas Albanius… much ancienter than his namesake surnamed the Wise.
From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary by Noah Webster
Ney enlisted at eighteen in a hussar regiment and gradually advanced step by step; Kleber soon discovered his merits, surnaming him "The Indefatigable," and promoted him to be adjutant-general when only twenty-five.
From How to Get on in the World A Ladder to Practical Success by Major A.R. Calhoon
Ney enlisted at eighteen in a hussar regiment, and gradually advanced step by step: Kleber soon discovered his merits, surnaming him “The Indefatigable,” and promoted him to be Adjutant-General when only twenty-five.
From Self help; with illustrations of conduct and perseverance by Samuel Smiles
The Cossack chiefs celebrated his exploits, one of them surnaming him the "hetmann."
From World's Best Histories — Volume 7: France by M. (François) Guizot
I wonder if Sala was the native and surnaming town of that other Sala whose initials are G. A. S., and whose nature is 'ditto'?
From Continental Monthly, Vol. III, No IV, April 1863 Devoted to Literature and National Policy by Various
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.
