# surname

Pronunciation: say "SUR-naym" US /ˈsɝˌneɪm/, UK /ˈsɜːˌneɪm/

## Noun

1. The part of a person's name that is usually inherited or marks their family, shared with relatives or derived from their names, as distinct from a given name.
   - Simple: The family name, the part of a name people usually get from their family, not their first name.
   - _She kept her own surname after the wedding, and the children took both._
   - _The class list is sorted alphabetically by surname._

## Verb

2. To give someone a particular surname, or to call or record them by it.
   - Simple: To give someone a family name or an extra name like 'the Wise', or to call them by it.
   - _She appears in the parish records as a woman surnamed Walsh, though she signed her letters Welsh._
   - _The chroniclers surname the king "the Bold" in nearly every entry._

## Noun

3. An added name or epithet given to a person, place, or thing, often from a birthplace, quality, or achievement; a nickname. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: An extra name or nickname given to a person or place, often for where they came from or what they did.
4. A clan: a group of related families sharing one family name, especially on the Anglo-Scottish Border. *(obsolete, Scotland)*
   - Simple: A large family group, or clan.

## Other meanings

- (noun) In classical studies, the cognomen: the added name that followed the clan name in a Roman's full name.

## Origin

From Middle English surname, a partial translation of Old French surnum, “surname; nickname,” from Late Latin supernōmen, from super-, “over, above,” + nōmen, “name”; equivalent to sur- + name.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/surname (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).