| last name n. See surname. |
sur·name  (sûr'nām')  n.
To give a surname to. [Middle English, partial translation of Old French surnom : sur-, sur- + nom, name.] |
last name
name added to a "given" name, in many cases inherited and held in common by members of a family. Originally, many surnames identified a person by his connection with another person, usually his father (Johnson, MacDonald); others gave his residence (Orleans, York, Atwood [i.e., living at the woods]) or occupation (Weaver, Hooper, Taylor). A surname could also be descriptive of a person's appearance (Little, Red) or his exploits (Armstrong).
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