surname

09-04-2006, 02:01 AM

sur.name (sûr?nam´) noun

1. A name shared in common to identify the members of a family, as
distinguished from each member's given name. Also called family name.
2. A nickname or an epithet added to a person's name.

Excerpted from AHD.

According to definition #2, Adhikari could be defined as "a surname used to
designate a married male devotee, e.g., Krishna däsa Adhikari."

And dasa could be described as a surname given to a devotee at the time of
initiation.

This usage of surname was unknown to me until seeing it in the dictionary 5
minutes ago. To me it sounds strange that Adhikari (or dasa), as used within
ISKCON, is considered a surname, and I'm hesitant to state it as such,
despite my editor's suggestion. Comments?