surname

1 of 2

noun

sur·​name ˈsər-ˌnām How to pronounce surname (audio)
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

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
Copy-editing by Sue Doyle, whose surname is the 8th most common included in pub names in Ireland. Carson Terbush, Washington Post, 14 Mar. 2024 The On the Market feature last Sunday misspelled the surname of the listing broker of 16 Fonda Road, Rockville Centre, N.Y. New York Times, 10 Mar. 2024 Family titles are also traditionally used as surnames. Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 7 Mar. 2024 The surname switch from Mountbatten-Windsor to Sussex stems back to the coronation of King Charles. Elise Taylor, Vogue, 16 Feb. 2024 His surname confers instant recognition — and sky-high expectations. George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Feb. 2024 The siblings previously used Cambridge as their surname, reflecting their parent’s titles as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 1 Mar. 2024 The Herald is not reporting Sean’s surname at the request of his family. Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald, 11 Feb. 2024 The next week, Flowers lived up to his surname, staging a wedding reception with linemen as his bridesmaids, then tossed them the football, bouquet-style, over his head. Gwydion Suilebhan, Baltimore Sun, 8 Feb. 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 The 39-year-old Chinese national, surnamed Hao, was a cadre at a ministry and had gone to Japan for studies, which was where the spying recruitment occurred, the ministry said. Reuters, NBC News, 21 Aug. 2023 Gandhi had asked in an election campaign speech, referring to two fugitive businessmen, both surnamed Modi. Reuters, NBC News, 4 Aug. 2023 The defense ministry said Wednesday that a lieutenant colonel surnamed Hsieh and other defendants were suspected of having been recruited by China to leak national defense secrets and other information. Time, 2 Aug. 2023 Police arrested the suspect, a 25-year-old man surnamed Wu, shortly after at around 8 a.m. Jessie Yeung, CNN, 10 July 2023 With stalwarts such as Bernie Sanders, Sheldon Whitehouse and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in Washington, as well as various people surnamed Biden, what could possibly go wrong? WSJ, 1 June 2023 The image of the employee, surnamed Han, was blurred in an interview with the state broadcaster and appeared to be wearing a prison uniform. Daisuke Wakabayashi, New York Times, 8 May 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'surname.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of surname was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near surname

Cite this Entry

“Surname.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/surname. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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

More from Merriam-Webster on surname

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