Noun: cognomen kóg'now-mun or kóg-nu-mun
- The name used to identify the members of a family (as distinguished from each member's given name)
"Smith is a common cognomen in English-speaking countries";
- surname, family name, last name
- A familiar name for a person (often a shortened version of a person's given name)
"Joe's mother would not use his cognomen and always called him Joseph";
- nickname, moniker, sobriquet, soubriquet, byname, monicker
Derived forms: cognomens
Type of: appellation, appellative, denomination, designation, name
Encyclopedia: Cognomen