surname
/ˈsɝˌneɪm/noun, verb
surname is spelled S-U-R-N-A-M-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 3.2 times per million words in written English, the 14,928th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, surname means “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…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of surname is surnames.
How many letters and syllables are in surname?
| Letters | 7: S-U-R-N-A-M-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.2 times per million words; the 14,928th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is surname?
Surname appears 3.2 times per million words in written English, the 14,928th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce surname?
- UK /ˈsɜːˌneɪm/
- US /ˈsɝˌneɪm/
Surname has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-surname.ogg, En-us-surname.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of surname
- surnames plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- sirname
- surnaming participle, present
- surnamed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does surname mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 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.
- 2
obsoleteSynonym of epithet, an additional name, particularly those derived from a birthplace, quality, or achievement.
- 3
obsoleteSynonym of nickname, an additional name given to a person, place, or thing, a byname.
- 4
The cognomen of Roman names.
verb
- 1
To give a surname to.
- 2
To call by a surname.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Surname in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | nom, patronyme, nom de famille , surnommer, donner un surnom |
| German | Nachname, Familienname |
| Portuguese | sobrenome, nome de família, último nome |
| Spanish | apellido, cognombre, apelativo , apodar , apodo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does surname come from?
Inherited from Middle English surname, a partial calque of Old French surnum, surnoun (“surname; nickname”) (whence Middle English surnoun), from Late Latin supernōmen, suprānōmen (“surname”), from super- (“over, above, beyond”) and nōmen (“name”), equivalent to sur- + name.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).