Is area and surface area the same? Why or Why Not?

Yes and no

Area is used to define the size of surface space available on a 2d object, which only ever has 1 face

Surface area is used to define the size of surface space available on a 3d shape, by adding up the area of all the faces of the shape

Sure. If you find the area of a surface,

then the area you have is surface area.

Others will undoubtedly come along and give you a

more complex answer, but I don't think that's necessary.