What is a surname?

Question

i have no clue!! ANSWER THIS PLEASE!!!

:-( :-( :-( HELP

Answer 1

1. the name that a person has in common with other family members, as distinguished from a Christian name or given name; family name.
2. a name added to a person's name, as one indicating a circumstance of birth or some characteristic or achievement; epithet.
3. to give a surname to; call by a surname.

Answer 2

The word Surname is sometimes referred to as Family name now.

What’s In A Name? How Did Surnames Come to Be?

In the early years of the Middle Ages, most people in Europe lived in small farming villages. Everyone knew his neighbors, and there was little need for last names. But as the population expanded and the towns grew, a need arose to find ways to differentiate between two people who shared the same first name.

Because the British were among the first Europeans to settle in North America, many modern American surnames can be traced back to medieval England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. Common adjectives used as bynames often referred to size - such as Little, Short, or Long—or to hair color or complexion—such as White, Black, or Red (which evolved into Reed). Sometimes, an adjective was combined with a noun to form a byname, like Longfellow or Blackbeard. Names such as Stern and Stout (meaning stout-hearted, not fat) described temperament, while Drinkwater implied someone with a powerful thirst. John Peacock must have been rather vain! A name might also refer to social status, such as Squire, Knight, or Bachelor. And Palmer described a pilgrim who had returned from the Holy Land. (It was traditional for such pilgrims to bring back a palm as a sort of souvenir.)

Names derived from the Gaelic tongue are less easily deciphered by modern English-speakers: Cameron means “crooked nose,” Kennedy means “ugly head,” and Connolly means “valiant.”

Answer 3

family name, surname, or last name is the part of a person's name that indicates to what family he or she belongs. Until the 12th century, most people throughout the world did not use or have a family name, and they were called by the single name they had (which was called a "first" or "given name" only after family names came into use). One of the most accepted theories for the origin of surname use attributes their introduction to the Normans and the Domesday Book of 1086. The use of surnames gradually became an accepted practice throughout Western Europe in the Middle Ages. In parts of the world, family names did not appear in common use until the 17th to 19th centuries, and they are unused in some cultures even today.

In most cultures in Africa and Asia, the family name is typically spoken and written first when referring to an individual. This order is often erroneously called the Eastern order because Europeans are most familiar with the examples of China, Japan and Korea. In most Western cultures, the family name is today given last, giving rise to the term last name for family name. However, even in some Western countries, the family name is used last only in writing and formal speech, and the inverse order is still very common in normal everyday speech. In addition, many if not most Western cultures originally used the family name first even in writing and formal speech. So in fact, the majority of the world's cultures still use the family name first.

In countries that use family names, these are most often used to refer to a stranger in a formal setting, often with the use of a title such as Mr. or Mrs. (or equivalent). The first name, given name, or personal name is the one used by friends, family, and other intimates

Answer 4

It's your Last Name!

Answer 5

Surname is the last name of sb or the family name or title. But not the nick name.

Answer 6

Your surname is your last name(for instance joe smith-smith is the surname

Answer 7

A name consists of three parts.
Your own name,your father's name and your SURNAME.
for example,
Ricky Thomas Ponting

Ponting is the surname here.

Answer 8

it's a last name.

Answer 9

the name that a person has in common with other family members, as distinguished from a Christian name or given name; family name.

Answer 10

its your last name