Synonyms for surname
Most common
Definitions
- n. 1
The portion of a person's name that is generally hereditary or treated as an indicator of a person's family, which may be shared with other members of the family, or otherwise derived from their names in some fashion; distinguished from that person's given name(s).
James is my first name, and Smith is my surname.
- n. 2
The cognomen of Roman names.
Related words
- Phrases
- occupational surname
- Is a kind of
- name
Forms
- Plural
- surnames → cognomens, by-names, nicknames, epithets…
Example sentences
- nickname "John Doe" is a nickname for an anonymous person.
- epithet Tom was fired for using a racial epithet at work.
- patronymic What is your surname, first name and patronymic?
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| surname | steady | |
| nickname | rising | |
| epithet | steady | |
| patronymic | rising |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 7 letters
- epithet3
- 8 letters
- nickname2, cognomen
- 10 letters
- patronymic4
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (epithet3 = 3 syllables).