Where does “surname” come from?
surname (Middle English) comes from Old French surnoun, from Late Latin supernomen, from Latin super-, from Latin super, from Latin eks-uper, from Proto-Indo-European upéri, from Proto-Indo-European upér, from Proto-Indo-European upó.
surname (Middle English): epithet, nickname; surname, family name; alias,...
Definitions
- epithet, nickname; surname, family name; alias,...
Ancestry of “surname”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old French | surnoun | additional name; nickname |
| 2 | Late Latin | supernomen | surname |
| 3 | Latin | super- | super-; over, above |
| 4 | Latin | super | "accusative" above, on the top of, upon;... |
| 5 | Latin | eks-uper | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | upéri | alternative reconstruction of *upér |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | upér | above; over |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | upó | under, below |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ewp- | — |
Words derived from “surname”