surname

1 of 2

noun

sur·​name ˈsər-ˌnām 

1

: an added name derived from occupation or other circumstance : nickname sense 1

2

: the name borne in common by members of a family

surname

2 of 2

verb

surnamed; surnaming; surnames

transitive verb

: to give a surname to

Synonyms

Noun

• family name
• last name

Examples of surname in a Sentence

Noun

judging from your surname, I'd guess that your family is Italian

“da Vinci” was Leonardo's surname but not his family name, Vinci being the town near Florence where the great artist was born

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s daughter Shiloh took it upon herself to legally drop her father’s last name from her own surname when turning 18 last week. —Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 3 June 2024

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s daughter Shiloh petitions to drop her dad’s surname. —Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 2 June 2024

Verb

Gansu authorities said the suspect, surnamed Hong, was questioned in the city of Dongguan in southern Guangdong province on May 5. —Chris Lau, CNN, 9 May 2023

The Chengdu police used social media on Wednesday to report that a 39-year-old man surnamed Chen was arrested on suspicion of opening a casino. —Patrick Frater, Variety, 22 Nov. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

surname

noun

sur·​name

ˈsər-ˌnām

1

: an added name : nickname

2

: the name held in common by members of a family

surname verb