aftername

English

Etymology

From after- +‎ name.

Noun

aftername (plural afternames)

1. A designation which comes after a name, similar to, yet not necessarily equivalent to one's last name
   • 1815, Walter Scott, Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer:

     'Oh, Lord kens that; we dinna mind folk's afternames muckle here, they run sae muckle into clans.'

   • 1972, Hubert Butler, Ten Thousand Saints, page 30:

     Not only did the saints have all these afternames but the heroes and ancestors had twice as many of an identical pattern. And soon I observed that the first names were composed of the same elements as the afternames.

   • 1979, Raymond Pearl, Human Biology, page 73:

     In England, in the Middle Ages, an individual sometimes used alternative afternames, that of his place of residence, his trade, or that of his master instead of that of his father.

   • 2006, Nigel Cox, Cowboy Dog, page 94:

     'Now is Dog the first name you have or the aftername?'

   • 2009, Robert Ferguson, The Vikings:

     At this point in his narrative Snorri ties up his tale of Harald's aftername.

Antonyms

• forename

Anagrams

• name after