surname

A2 Topic:Family & Relationships

US /ˈsɝˌneɪm/ UK /ˈsɜːˌneɪm/ See IPA manual

Freq #11242

Meanings

1

noun
The family name shared by members of a family, used after the first name.

James is my first name, and Smith is my surname.
2

verb
To give someone a surname or call them by one.

He was surnamed "the Great" by his people.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the family name shared by... family namelast name

More cognomento-name

Word family

Forms surnamedsurnames

Derived forms surnamelesssurnominal

Related forms afternameaneponymoussurnameless

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English surname, a partial calque of Old French surnum, surnoun (“surname; nickname”) (whence Middle English surnoun), from Late Latin supernōmen, suprānōmen (“surname”), from super- (“over, above, beyond”) and nōmen (“name”), equivalent to sur- + name.

surname Middle English surnum Old French supernōmen, suprānōmen la-lat

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# surname

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈsɝˌneɪm/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈsɜːˌneɪm/
**Frequency rank:** 11242

## Meanings
1. The family name shared by members of a family, used after the first name.
2. To give someone a surname or call them by one.

## Examples
- James is my first name, and Smith is my surname.
- He was surnamed "the Great" by his people.

## Synonyms
- cognomen
- to-name

## Derived Forms
- surnameless
- surnominal

## Related Forms
- aftername
- aneponymous
- surnameless

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: surname
- Root: surnum
- Root: supernōmen, suprānōmen

## Etymology
Inherited from Middle English surname, a partial calque of Old French surnum, surnoun (“surname; nickname”) (whence Middle English surnoun), from Late Latin supernōmen, suprānōmen (“surname”), from super- (“over, above, beyond”) and nōmen (“name”), equivalent to sur- + name.

## AI Etymology
Surname is inherited from Middle English surname, a partial calque of Old French surnum, surnoun (“surname; nickname”) (whence Middle English surnoun), from Late Latin supernōmen, suprānōmen (“surname”), from super- (“over, above, beyond”) and nōmen (“name”), equivalent to sur- + name. In present-day use, it can mean the family name shared by members of a family, used after the first name, or to give someone a surname or call them by one.

## Topics
- Family & Relationships

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surname

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