surname

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.”

   “In late yeeres Surnames have beene given for Christian names among vs, and no where else in Christendom.”

   “The Norman Conquest...brought with it the novelty of family nomenclature, that is to say, the use of hereditary surnames.”

2. (obsolete)Synonym of epithet, an additional name, particularly those derived from a birthplace, quality, or achievement.

   “Barsabas (whose syrname was Iustus).”

   “My sirname is Peace-Maker, one that is but poorely regarded in England.”

   “To his sur-name Coriolanus longs more pride Then pitty to our Prayers.”

3. (obsolete)Synonym of nickname, an additional name given to a person, place, or thing, a byname.

   “I have before declared that Baal was the Sun, and Baal Peor, a sirname, from a particular place of his worship.”

4. (Classical-studies)The cognomen of Roman names.

verb

1. (transitive)To give a surname to.
2. (transitive)To call by a surname.

   ““Lord,” said Sir Launcelot, “I am hight Launcelot, and am surnamed ‘He of the Lake.’””

   “The man, surnamed Hsieh (謝), was arrested in the city’s Jhonghe District (中和) on Friday afternoon, after investigators combed through surveillance video footage a day earlier, police said.”