Meaning of "surname" in the English dictionary

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD SURNAME

Via Anglo-French from Old French surnom.

Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.

PRONUNCIATION OF SURNAME

surname  [ˈsɜːˌneɪm]

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF SURNAME

Surname is a verb and can also act as a noun.

A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

The verb is the part of the sentence that is conjugated and expresses action and state of being.

See the conjugation of the verb surname in English.

WHAT DOES SURNAME MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Surname

A surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name and many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name". In the western hemisphere, it is commonly synonymous with "last name", since it is usually placed at the end of a person's given name. In most Hispanophone and Lusophone countries, two or more last names may be used. In Russia and China, along with Hungary, Japan, Korea, Madagascar, Vietnam, parts of India and in many other East Asian countries, the family name is placed before a person's given name. The style of having both a family name and a given name is far from universal. In many countries it is common for ordinary people to have only one name or mononym. The concept of a 'surname' is a relatively recent historical development, evolving from a medieval naming practice called a 'byname'. Based on an individual's occupation or area of residence, a byname would be used in situations where more than one person had the same name.

Definition of surname in the English dictionary

The first definition of surname in the dictionary is Also called: last name, second name. a family name as opposed to a first or Christian name. Other definition of surname is a descriptive epithet attached to a person's name to denote a personal characteristic, profession, etc; nickname. Surname is also to furnish with or call by a surname.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO SURNAME

PRESENT

Present

I surname

you surname

he/she/it surnames

we surname

you surname

they surname

Present continuous

I am surnaming

you are surnaming

he/she/it is surnaming

we are surnaming

you are surnaming

they are surnaming

Present perfect

I have surnamed

you have surnamed

he/she/it has surnamed

we have surnamed

you have surnamed

they have surnamed

Present perfect continuous

I have been surnaming

you have been surnaming

he/she/it has been surnaming

we have been surnaming

you have been surnaming

they have been surnaming

Present tense is used to refer to circumstances that exist at the present time or over a period that includes the present time. The present perfect refers to past events, although it can be considered to denote primarily the resulting present situation rather than the events themselves.

PAST

Past

I surnamed

you surnamed

he/she/it surnamed

we surnamed

you surnamed

they surnamed

Past continuous

I was surnaming

you were surnaming

he/she/it was surnaming

we were surnaming

you were surnaming

they were surnaming

Past perfect

I had surnamed

you had surnamed

he/she/it had surnamed

we had surnamed

you had surnamed

they had surnamed

Past perfect continuous

I had been surnaming

you had been surnaming

he/she/it had been surnaming

we had been surnaming

you had been surnaming

they had been surnaming

Past tense forms express circumstances existing at some time in the past,

FUTURE

Future

I will surname

you will surname

he/she/it will surname

we will surname

you will surname

they will surname

Future continuous

I will be surnaming

you will be surnaming

he/she/it will be surnaming

we will be surnaming

you will be surnaming

they will be surnaming

Future perfect

I will have surnamed

you will have surnamed

he/she/it will have surnamed

we will have surnamed

you will have surnamed

they will have surnamed

Future perfect continuous

I will have been surnaming

you will have been surnaming

he/she/it will have been surnaming

we will have been surnaming

you will have been surnaming

they will have been surnaming

The future is used to express circumstances that will occur at a later time.

CONDITIONAL

Conditional

I would surname

you would surname

he/she/it would surname

we would surname

you would surname

they would surname

Conditional continuous

I would be surnaming

you would be surnaming

he/she/it would be surnaming

we would be surnaming

you would be surnaming

they would be surnaming

Conditional perfect

I would have surname

you would have surname

he/she/it would have surname

we would have surname

you would have surname

they would have surname

Conditional perfect continuous

I would have been surnaming

you would have been surnaming

he/she/it would have been surnaming

we would have been surnaming

you would have been surnaming

they would have been surnaming

Conditional or "future-in-the-past" tense refers to hypothetical or possible actions.

IMPERATIVE

Imperative

you surname
we let´s surname
you surname

The imperative is used to form commands or requests.

NONFINITE VERB FORMS

Infinitive

to surname

Past participle

surnamed

Present Participle

surnaming

Infinitive shows the action beyond temporal perspective. The present participle or gerund shows the action during the session. The past participle shows the action after completion.

SYNONYMS OF «SURNAME»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «surname» and belong to the same grammatical category.

synonyms of surname

family name · last name · matronymic · patronymic

TRANSLATION OF SURNAME

Find out the translation of surname to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of surname from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «surname» in English.

• Translator English - Chinese: 姓氏
• Translator English - Spanish: apellido
• English: surname
• Translator English - Hindi: उपनाम
• Translator English - Arabic: لَقَب
• Translator English - Russian: фамилия
• Translator English - Portuguese: sobrenome
• Translator English - Bengali: পদবি
• Translator English - French: nom de famille
• Translator English - Malay: nama keluarga
• Translator English - German: Nachname
• Translator English - Japanese: 姓
• Translator English - Korean: 성
• Translator English - Javanese: Surname
• Translator English - Vietnamese: họ
• Translator English - Tamil: குடும்ப
• Translator English - Marathi: आडनाव
• Translator English - Turkish: soyadı
• Translator English - Italian: cognome
• Translator English - Polish: nazwisko
• Translator English - Ukrainian: прізвище
• Translator English - Romanian: nume de familie
• Translator English - Greek: επίθετο
• Translator English - Afrikaans: van
• Translator English - Swedish: efternamn
• Translator English - Norwegian: etternavn

10 QUOTES WITH «SURNAME»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word surname.

1

Anil Ambani

I am extremely proud to have the surname Ambani. I am proud to be a Gujarati, and above all, an extremely proud Indian.

2

Anil Ambani

I entered KC College in 1975. When I came here for my interview, for my admission, every person I spoke to spoke to me in Sindhi. Be it Kundanani, Bhambani, Nichani, Kevalramani... and they also thought that Ambani was the same. For a moment, I thought that I got my admission at KC College because I have a 'ni' in my surname.

3

Oona Chaplin

I have to go through auditions, and my surname has got me into rooms, but I'll never know if it gets me any jobs. There's a lot of sexism and objectification, and a lot of people put you down.

4

Sanjay Dutt

Your lineage and surname become irrelevant after your first film. Audiences do not care.

5

Anne Enright

In more static societies, like Ireland, you can tell where a person is from by their surname, or where their grandparents are from.

6

Laura Haddock

I see my daft surname as a positive thing. It first dawned on me that I had a comical name when someone called me 'Fishface' on my first day at school. I've heard all the fish jokes since then, many times over.

7

Karisma Kapoor

The Kapoor surname has legend, a passion for acting, respect and love attached to it. And I am very proud of that.

8

Julian McMahon

It's very hard to step into a job when people are just dismissing you as a pretty face, and saying you got your job only because your surname is McMahon.

9

Kangna Ranaut

When I left my home to become an actress, my father didn't give me a single penny. I struggled a lot, and they had no idea what I went through. My grandfather even asked me to drop my surname when he learnt I was joining films.

10

Pihla Viitala

Tommy Wirkola is Norwegian but has a Finnish surname - he comes from the one of the northernmost countries in the whole of Europe. It was easy working with him. The people in the north are all fairly similar.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «SURNAME»

Discover the use of surname in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to surname and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

The Surname Detective: Investigating Surname Distribution in ...

From the author of The Family Tree Detective, this guide provides the amateur genealogist or family historian with the skills to research the distribution and history of a surname.

Colin D. Rogers, 1995

What's in a Surname?: A Journey from Abercrombie to Zwicker

All are grist to the mill for David McKie who, in What's in a Surname?, sets off on a journey around Britain to find out how such appellations have evolved and what they tell us about ourselves.

David McKie, 2013

A surname guide to Massachusetts town histories

Index to 128 volumes of Massachusetts town histories, organized alphabetically by surname.

Phyllis O. Longver, Pauline Johnson Oesterlin, 1993

Children's Rights and the Developing Law

Indeed, the law reports spanning more than 20 years contain accounts of such disputes.220 Most of these arise over whether a child should now adopt a different surname, reflecting the residential parents' own change of circumstances.

Jane Fortin, 2009

The Evatt Clan: A Worldwide Historical Review of the Evatt ...

Discover the origins of the Evatt family, from the Vikings to citizens of Australia, New Zealand, England and the United States.

Danny Evatt, 2013

Persons of Spanish surname

SUBJECT REPORTS Persons of Spanish Surname page Introduction IV Appendix A, General Information Concerning the Data App-1 Appendix B, Area Classifications App-3 Appendix C, Definitions and Explanations of Subject Characteristics ...

United States. Bureau of the Census, 1973

Characteristics of the Spanish Surname Population by Census ...

The Spanish surname universe used in tables 1, 2, and 3 of this report is generally but not precisely comparable with the universe used for persons of Spanish surname in the 1960 census reports, Census Tracts, Series PHC(1), since the latter ...

‎1974

Surname Book and Racial History: A Compilation and ...

It would, therefore, be impossible for an intelligent Latter-day Saint genealogist to carry on a successful search for his ancestors without knowing something concerning the origin of his surname, and then of his tribe and the history of the ...

Susa Young Gates, 1918

Family Law in Greece

A person's name consists of the first name and the surname. As the possibility of a synonym is quite frequent, the names of human beings are usually accompanied by their patronymic name. According to public law, every citizen is obliged to ...

Ismene Androulidakis-Dimitriadis, 2010

Legal Problems Relating to Parentage: Proceedings, XXVIIth ...

§1 - The legitimate child A. The preeminence of the surname of the husband of the child's mother Whenever the birth certificate mentions a married mother and the child is covered by the presumption of paternity, he or she will be legitimate. ln ...

‎1999

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «SURNAME»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term surname is used in the context of the following news items.

Bloomberg's Granddaughter Gets a Hybrid Surname

When Ms. Bloomberg, his older child, gave birth this spring, she and her husband, Chris Frissora, combined their surnames into a portmanteau. Their daughter ... «New York Times, Jul 15»

Should A Man Take on A Woman's Surname After Marriage?

(MacAskill clearly beats my birth surname “Crouch” on both counts, having a better ring and being the name of both Giant MacAskill—a forebear of my fiancée's ... «Madame Noire, Jun 15»

Zoe Saldana's Husband Takes Her Surname — Despite Her …

Now, the 36-year-old beauty reveals that — in a contemporary twist — Marco Perego Saldana adopted her surname after they exchanged vows. "I tried to talk ... «Yahoo Celebrity UK, Jun 15»

There is a website that tells you how popular or common your …

All you do is type in your surname and it will tell you its place in the common stakes, approximately how many people in the world share the same name and the ... «Irish Examiner, May 15»

State agrees to let couple give child chosen surname

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The state Department of Health has agreed to let a Brentwood couple give their child the surname of their choice, bringing to an end a ... «Chattanooga Times Free Press, Apr 15»

Call me Foo-key: Alberta college basketball star refuses to stop …

Guilherme Carabagiale Fuck, also known as Gui Fuck, won't give up his surname — he pronounces it ghee-Foo-key. The 26-year-old business administration ... «National Post, Mar 15»

Mother wins right to change twin sons' surname after father's online …

'I am persuaded that the desirable preservation of a symbol of a paternal link through the preservation of the surname has to give way to the protection of the ... «Daily Mail, Nov 14»

The top 300 Irish family names explained

Ahern, O'Ahern, Hearne – This surname was first found in Co. Clare, where they held a family seat as a Dalcassian sept from before the year 1000. With the ... «IrishCentral, Oct 14»

Don't get rolled by your surname

New research proves that the ordering of children in school by surname, on the roll call for sport or for treats, will have very real effects in adulthood. Tell a ... «Sydney Morning Herald, Sep 14»

Prisoner Anthony Douglas accidentally released because of shared …

A prisoner has been released by mistake after an apparent mix-up involving another inmate with the same surname. The Prison Service launched an ... «The Guardian, Jul 14»