Word List: Definitions of Words for Names

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When my brother and I were little, our parents used to joke that if one of us had been a girl, they could have named us Chris and Alice, so that we would be "Chris and Alice Chrisomalis". Fortunately for all concerned, they did not do so, because names are very powerful things (here are some more of my thoughts on the subject). Anyway, this short and probably incomplete list defines about 40 words relating to names. These words contain the root "nym", which comes from the Greek onoma, a name.

Word	Definition
acronym	word formed from initial letters of another word
allonym	other person's name used by an author
ananym	name written backward; often used as synonym
anonym	person whose name is not given; pseudonym
antonym	word whose meaning is the opposite of a given word
aptronym	name that suits its owner
autonym	a writer's real name; work published under writer's own name
caconym	wrongly derived name
cohyponym	word which is one of multiple hyponyms of another word
cryptonym	secret name
dionym	name containing two parts or terms
eponym	personal name from which another name is derived
euonym	a pleasing or beautiful name
euonymous	appropriately named
euphonym	euphonious synonym
exonym	name for a town or country in a foreign language
heteronym	word having same spelling but different sound and meaning
homonym	words having the same sound but different meanings
hypernym	word representing a class of words or things
hyponym	term which is a member of a larger class
isonym	word having the same derivation or form as another
meronym	word whose relation to another is a part to the whole
metonymy	figurative use of word to name an attribute of its subject
metronymy	system of naming after the mother's or female line
onymous	bearing the author’s name
paedonymic	name taken from one's child
paranym	euphemism; word whose meaning altered to conceal evasion
paronym	word from same root or having same sound as another
patronym	name derived from father's name
poecilonym	synonym
polyonym	name consisting of several words
pseudonym	fictitious name used by an author
retronym	new name as modification of older term used alone
synonym	word whose meaning is the same as another word
tautonym	taxonomic name in which genus and species are the same
teknonymy	the naming of the parent from the child
toponym	place name derived from geographical feature
trionym	name consisting of three words

I hope you have found this site to be useful. If you have any corrections, additions, or comments, please contact me. Please note that I am not able to respond to all requests. Please consult a major dictionary before e-mailing your query. All material on this page © 1996-2013 Stephen Chrisomalis. Links to this page may be made without permission.

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