Surname
nounThe hereditary family name shared by members of a household, usually placed after the given name.
How to spell surname
7 letters · 2 syllables
How to pronounce surname
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does surname mean?
- nounThe hereditary family name shared by members of a household, usually placed after the given name.
Surname in a sentence
-
The form asks for your given name and your surname on separate lines.
-
After the wedding she changed her surname to match her husband's.
Where does surname come from?
Language of origin: French
This word came into English in the 1300s from Anglo-French surnoun and Old French surnom, meaning an added or extra name. The first part is sur-, from the Latin super, meaning 'over' or 'above', and it signals a name laid on top of a person's given name. The second part was simply the word for 'name', and English speakers soon swapped the French nom for their own native 'name', which is why the modern spelling looks like 'sur' plus 'name' rather than the original French form. Originally a surname could be any added description, such as a nickname or a name marking where someone lived or what work they did, before it settled into the inherited family name we know today. The same sur- 'over, above' element appears in everyday words like surface, surplus, and surcharge, which is a useful clue that the spelling begins sur- and not 'sir-'.
How the word is built
- sur- (over, above, additional)
- name (from Old English nama)
Fix your spelling for good.
Spelling Garden finds the words you personally get wrong, plants them in a garden, and brings each one back just before you would have forgotten it.
Just five minutes a day is all it takes to fix your spelling.