A surname or family name is a name added to a given name. In many cases, a surname is a family name and many dictionaries define surname as a synonym of family name.. In the western hemisphere, it is commonly synonymous with last name because it is usually placed at the end of a person's given name.n English, although the usual order of names is first middle last for the purpose of cataloging in libraries and in citing the names of authors in scholarly papers, the order is changed to last, first middle, with the last and first names separated by a comma, and items are alphabetized by the last name.