1
as in family name
a name shared by members of a family
judging from your surname, I'd guess that your family is Italian
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2
as in nickname
a descriptive or familiar name given instead of or in addition to the one belonging to an individual
"da Vinci" was Leonardo's surname but not his family name, Vinci being the town near Florence where the great artist was born
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of surname
Eunice Yoon,evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 20 Sep. 2024
An employee surnamed Lin who answered the phone at Gold Apollo but declined to provide her full name or title said the company did not directly fill the pager order from Hezbollah, and that BAC handles the vast majority of device sales from Middle Eastern customers.
—Stephanie Yang, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2024
Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Oct. 2025
The movie is a personal documentary in the form of a quest to find out how Stephen, despite being Chinese, ended up with an English surname.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 2 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for surname
Noun
The individual, surnamed Yang, declined to share his first name due to concerns about speaking with foreign media.
—Eunice Yoon,evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 20 Sep. 2024
An employee surnamed Lin who answered the phone at Gold Apollo but declined to provide her full name or title said the company did not directly fill the pager order from Hezbollah, and that BAC handles the vast majority of device sales from Middle Eastern customers.
—Stephanie Yang, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2024
Verb
Finlay was her mother's maiden name, and the surname for her famous grandmother, Marjorie Finlay.
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Oct. 2025
The movie is a personal documentary in the form of a quest to find out how Stephen, despite being Chinese, ended up with an English surname.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 2 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for surname
Recent Examples of Synonyms for surname
Noun
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Beckham, a marketeer to her core and fully aware of the power of the family name, offered deeply personal stories to go with each fragrance.—
Samantha Conti,
Footwear News,
8 Oct. 2025
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Altogether, the Ellison family name is taking shape to be the future of movies, streaming, TV shows and more.—
Jessica Coacci,
Fortune,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Beatrice is stepmother to Edo's 9-year-old son Christopher Woolf (who goes by the nickname Wolfie), while the couple also shares daughters Sienna, 3, and Athena, 6 months.—
Greta Bjornson,
PEOPLE,
8 Oct. 2025
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It’s named after her late father, Orlando Cortes, whose Cuban nickname was Lilico.—
Jenna Thompson,
Kansas City Star,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In a new essay co-written with Harvard University professor Robert Waldinger — titled The Power of Human Connection in a Distracted World — Kate, 43, reflected on how technology is eroding our ability to truly connect.—
Janine Henni,
PEOPLE,
10 Oct. 2025
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The composition, titled Victory (NBA on Prime Theme), will serve as the signature sound for NBA on Prime each week beginning with the 2025-26 season.—
Sportico Staff,
Sportico.com,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Then, a little over a week after Howard was booked into custody, police arrested 45-year-old Yan Wang, whom the DA's office said was in a relationship with Howard (the pair are not related despite sharing a last name).—
Chris Spargo,
PEOPLE,
8 Oct. 2025
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Here is a quick look at each player on Florida’s initial roster, separated by position and then listed alphabetically by last name.—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
7 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Use chapter titles or epithets to set up what’s coming.—
JD Barker,
Rolling Stone,
25 Sep. 2025
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On his next broadcast, Maher convened guests like Ice Cube and Michael Eric Dyson to call him to task for using the epithet and to explore the issues about its us.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
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In Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For – Europe list 2025, Hilton has been named the best workplace in Austria, France, Italy, Switzerland and the Netherlands.—
Rebecca Ann Hughes,
Fortune,
9 Oct. 2025
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The show ended with Hilaria Baldwin and Gleb Savchenko being eliminated, and what wasn't shown on TV was Baldwin's kids in the audience getting emotional when she was named as the star going home.—
Julia Moore,
PEOPLE,
8 Oct. 2025
Verb
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It can be styled over a white T-shirt, or worn backward thanks to its new reversible design (created in 2024).—
Thomas Waller,
Footwear News,
11 Oct. 2025
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At the top of her career, she became known for those springy, bright blonde curls styled with a deep side-part.—
Anneke Knot,
Allure,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Both projects were organized to determine if the 68 percent of all mass and energy, collectively termed dark matter, originates from a pure cosmological constant.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
1 Oct. 2025
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Each became part of the political and historical phenomenon termed the balsero crisis, so named for the balsas, or makeshift rafts, that carried the refugees out into the Florida Straits.—
Miriam Pensack,
The Dial,
30 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Surname.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surname. Accessed 14 Oct. 2025.
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