Namesake

For other uses, see Namesake (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with eponym.

Namesake is a term used to characterize a person, place, thing, quality, action, state, or idea that has the same, or a similar, name to another - especially (but not exclusively) if the person or thing is actually named after another, rather than merely sharing the name of another.

For example, if a person, place, or thing has the same name as another - especially if they are named after another person, place, or thing, then the one that is named after the other, i.e., the recipient of the naming, is said to be the namesake of the name source. However, usage can go in the other direction, too, with the namesake referring to the source: Merriam-Webster defines it as: "one that has the same name as another; especially : one who is named after another or for whom another is named".

The earliest use reported in the Oxford English Dictionary was in 1635. Dictionaries suggest that the word probably comes from "name's sake", "for one's name('s) sake", for "name sake".

History

The term namesake was first recorded in 1635, referring to a place with the same name as another. Among other recordings, a 1646 usage was carried through in an 1806 publication, entitled A Critical Pronouncing Dictionary, and Expositor of the English Language. Modern-day usage has expanded to several uses for the term.

Usage

Naming a child after a relative, friend, or well-known person is a fairly common practice. In the case of sons named for their father this can necessitate "Jr.", "III'", and other name suffixes in order to distinguish between individuals - especially when both father and son become famous. Use of a namesake's name in a leadership position may indicate certain things, usually referring to certain traits of the namesake, such as in the use of papal regnal names.

Some commercial entities and products are named after their creators, such as the Trump Tower and Ford Motor Company. Items are also named after people associated with them, such as the teddy bear. This is especially the case with scientific discoveries and theories, such as Gibbs free energy. When the receiver name merely is derived from the source name without an additional "sake" connection, such usage more accurately may be called an eponym rather than a namesake.

Discrepancies in meaning (US usage)

There has been some discrepancy as to whether the name source or the name recipient takes the term namesake. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, a namesake is a person or thing named after another. In other words, the name recipient takes the term namesake, for example:

• "I was named after my grandfather. I am his namesake."
• "Julian's Castle, Julian's namesake restaurant."

The Oxford English Dictionary and Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary are not so restrictive. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a namesake is a person or thing having the same name as another, while Merriam-Webster's Dictionary defines "namesake" as "one that has the same name as another; especially one who is named after another or for whom another is named", allowing such usage as: "I met a person who happened to have the same name as I. We are namesakes."

By defining namesake as "for whom another is named", Merriam-Webster's Dictionary allows the term to be used in reference to the name source as in: "I was named after my grandfather; he is my namesake."

Both usages of namesake are correct. This ambiguity sometimes may be resolved by the terms eponym or namegiver; the latter refers to the name source which provides the name to the name recipient.

Examples of namesakes

In popular culture

Astral bodies

• 84928 Oliversacks after Oliver Sacks
• Comet Hale–Bopp after Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp
• Halley's Comet after English astronomer Edmond Halley

Commercial products and entities

Main article: List of companies named after people

• Mario, Nintendo's mascot, (after Mario Segale)
• The teddy bear (after Theodore Roosevelt)

Fictional characters

• James Bond (after Ian Fleming's favorite ornithologist James Bond)

Groups

• Bon Jovi (for its frontman, Jon Bon Jovi)
• Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (after band leader Bruce Springsteen and E Street in Belmar, New Jersey)
• Daughtry (for its frontman, Chris Daughtry)
• Fleetwood Mac (for its members Mick Fleetwood and John McVie)
• Guns N' Roses (for its lead vocalist Axl Rose and former guitarist Tracii Guns)
• Hanson (for its members Isaac, Taylor, & Zac Hanson)
• The Jackson 5 (later known as The Jacksons) (for its members Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, Michael, Randy, Rebbie, & Janet Jackson)
• Van Halen (for its founding brothers Eddie & Alex Van Halen)

People

• Woody Allen (for his favourite jazz musician Woody Herman)
• Footballer Lionel Messi is named after Lionel Richie
• Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo is named after Ronald Reagan
• Sachin Tendulkar is named after Sachin Dev Burman

Place names

Numerous place names are namesakes. These are but a few examples.

• FDR Drive after Franklin Delano Roosevelt
• Houston, Texas after Sam Houston
• Houston Street after William Houstoun (lawyer)
• Hutchinson River after Anne Hutchinson
• Levittown, the name of four large suburban developments created in the United States of America by William Levitt and his company Levitt & Sons
• Maryland after Queen Henrietta Maria of France

Professional examples

• Pope
• Regnal name

Scientific terms

These are but a few of the many chemical, electrical, and physical terms that are namesakes:

• Bunsen burner, after Robert Bunsen
• Curie, after Pierre Curie and Marie Curie
• Farad, after Michael Faraday
• Gibbs free energy, after Josiah Willard Gibbs
• Henry, after Joseph Henry
• Hertz, after Heinrich Rudolf Hertz
• Joule, after James Joule
• Kelvin, after William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin
• Michaelis-Menten kinetics, after Leonor Michaelis and Maud Menten
• Newton, after Isaac Newton
• Ohm, after Georg Ohm
• Tesla, after Nikola Tesla
• Volt, after Alessandro Volta
• Von Neumann architecture, after John von Neumann
• Watt, after James Watt

Sports

• Heisman Trophy (after John Heisman)
• Stanley Cup (after Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby)

Namesake cataloguing

Casual or accidental identification of personal namesakes can occur in daily life via a number of sources, including: dictionaries of biography, internet search engines, newspaper births/deaths/marriages announcements, telephone directories, etc.

There are some notable examples of deliberate searching for and identification of non-related personal namesakes.

• Starting with a drunken wager, British comedian Dave Gorman used a wide variety of methods to find namesakes, an exercise which then evolved into a 2001 stage show Are You Dave Gorman? and was subsequently adapted as a book and television series.
• US actor/filmmaker Jim Killeen used the Google search engine to find personal namesakes for his documentary Google Me (2007)

See also

• Code name, word or name used clandestinely to refer to another name or word
• Cognomen, inherited name
• Protected Geographical Status, product target name sourced to protected geographical name
• Scientific phenomena named after people