Literally, a deputy or substitute In 18th and 19th Newfoundland, naval officers and others with temporary commissions as justices of the peace were known as surrogate magistrates, and their courts as surrogates courts
{i} substitute; surrogate mother, woman who voluntarily carries a fetus for another woman; judge who has jurisdiction over the settlement of wills and estates (in certain states of the USA)
A judicial officer of limited jurisdiction, who administers matters of probate and intestate succession and, in some cases, adoptions
a local judicial officer in some states who has jurisdiction over the probate of wills, the settlement of estates, and the appointment and supervision of guardians
You use surrogate to describe a person or thing that is given a particular role because the person or thing that should have the role is not available. Martin had become Howard Cosell's surrogate son Surrogate is also a noun. Arms control should not be made into a surrogate for peace. a surrogate person or thing is one that takes the place of someone or something else
A surrogate is (usually) an element of biodiversity that is used in management to represent, or substitute for, a more complex element of biodiversity that is more difficult to define or measure Surrogates may also be Indicators when they are used for performance assessment purposes