Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Plural form of surname.
  • verb Third-person singular simple present indicative form of surname.

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

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Examples

  • The official total of permitted surnames is 161, but this doesn't do much to offset the fact that there are now 93 million Wangs in China - albeit very tiny wangs - something which is causing the authorities a bit of a problem.

    Archive 2007-06-01 2007

  • Little things like missing hyphens, common in Hispanic surnames or Haitian first names, are enough to have a person's registration denied. ...

    'Daily Voting News' For December 13, 2007 2007

  • I notice that the negroes seldom or never take the names of their present owners in adopting their "entitles," as they call their surnames, but always that of some former master, and they go as far back as possible.

    The war-time journal of a Georgia girl, 1864-1865, 1908

  • And then there are the mysteries of Latin surnames to share, so it’s a nice cross cultural activity.

    F is for First Lessons « An A-Z of ELT 2010

  • I don't think any of my surnames are as interesting.

    Sorry, Grandma 2006

  • The thing is, the surnames are apparently acceptable in the United Kingdom but potentially "dirty" in American English.

    Sorry, Grandma 2006

  • Dave at OakvilleBlackWalnut noticed a request for volunteers to administer RootsWeb message boards for certain surnames.

    Sorry, Grandma 2006

  • The article that you linked to includes this myth that just won't die: Demographers pointed to more than one factor in explaining the increase in Hispanic surnames.

    A Surge in Spanish Surnames 2007

  • In ancient times no such appellations as those now termed surnames were given to individuals.

    Exposition of the Apostles Creed James Dodds

  • It also occurs in Cajun surnames like Boudreaux, Thibodeaux, Simoneaux and Robicheaux.

    NYT > Home Page By CHRIS BRANCH 2011

Comments

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  • Their inclusion in the databse is more understandable than Internet usernames, but to my mind they still make random word searches less appealing.

    November 21, 2009

  • See Prideaux. We even have components of hyphenated-surnames listed as discrete words, at least vexample-wise :-(

    November 22, 2009