surnamesur‧name /ˈsɜːneɪm $ ˈsɜːr-/ ●●● S3 noun [countable] 
Word Origin
Word OriginWORD ORIGINsurname
ExamplesOrigin:
1300-1400 sur- ‘above, beyond’ (from Old French; ➔ SURCHARGE) + nameEXAMPLES FROM THE CORPUS
Thesaurus- Before the established use of surnames a recourse to nicknames was almost necessary and certainly of very frequent occurrence.
- However, the head-of-family system and the ban on marriage between people of the same surname remained unchanged.
- I monitor her face for reactions to that familiar and, for us, unlucky surname.
- Probably no one had called him by his surname since he was in the Army.
- The alarm was not raised until last Friday when one arrived home with the wrong surname on an identity bracelet.
- Then the computer sorts all the surnames into what we call frequency ranges.
- Those patients with surnames from A-L received one level of benefit.
Longman Language Activatora person's name► name
Collocations · What's your name?· I'm not very good at remembering people's names.· His name is Raymond Ford.full name (=all your names) · Ayrton Senna's full name was Ayrton Senna da Silva.sign your name · She must have written to Laura without signing her name.call somebody's name · The doctor will call your name when he is ready to see you.mention somebody by name · She didn't mention you by name, but I'm sure it was you she was talking about.
► first name also given name American the name that your parents choose for you when you are born, which in Western countries comes at the beginning of your full name: · Her first name is Liz. I don't know her surname.· Fill out the form with your last name, followed by your given name.
► Christian name someone's first name, or the name that Christian parents choose for a baby when they christen it: · My mother's Christian name was Mary.
► middle name also second name British the name that comes between your first and last names: · John F. Kennedy's middle name was Fitzgerald.· Vicki won't tell anyone her second name.
► last name/surname your last name, which is the same as your parents' name: · I know his first name, but I can't remember his last name.· Smith is the most common English surname.
► maiden name the surname that a woman had before she was married: · My mother kept her maiden name when she got married. (=did not change her name to her husband's name)
► family name the name that is shared by all the members of the same family: · Joseph Conrad's original family name was Korzeniowski.carry on the family name (=to pass on your family name to your children): · He died leaving no children to carry on the family name.
► initials the first letters of each of your names: · There's no need to write out your full name. Just your initials will do.· a suitcase marked with the initials JR
► title a word such as Mrs, Miss, Ms, Mr, Dr, or Professor that you put before your name: · The title 'Ms' became much more popular in the 1980s.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSVERB► change
the name that you share with your parents, or often with your husband if you are a married woman, and which in English comes at the end of your full name SYN last name, family name → forename· In women's tennis, they changed their surnames faster than the score.· As part of the marriage settlement he changed his surname to Smith-Cumming, later becoming known as Cumming.· I changed my surname because I did not want my sire's name.
► know· He knows she has been married since graduating but doesn't know her present surname or whereabouts.· No one ever seemed to know William's surname and he had a bizarre appearance at a time when smartness was highly valued.· He didn't even know her surname.