An eponym is a

noun In grammar, a noun is a word that represents a concrete or abstract thing, like living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, and ideas. A noun may serve as an Object (grammar), object or Subject (grammar), subject within a p ...

after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovations, biological nomenclature, astronomical objects, works of art and media, and tribal names. Various orthographic conventions are used for eponyms.

Usage of the word

The term ''eponym'' functions in multiple related ways, all based on an explicit relationship between two named things. ''Eponym'' may refer to a person or, less commonly, a place or thing for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. ''Eponym'' may also refer to someone or something named after, or believed to be named after, a person or, less commonly, a place or thing. A person, place, or thing named after a particular person share an eponymous relationship. In this way,

Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

is the eponym of the Elizabethan era, but the Elizabethan era can also be referred to as the eponym of

. Eponyms may be named for things or places, for example 10 Downing Street, a building named after its street address. Adjectives and verbs may be eponyms, for example '' bowdlerize''. Adjectives derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. When Henry Ford is referred to as "the ''eponymous'' founder of the

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...

", his surname "Ford" and the name of the motor company have an eponymous relationship. The word "eponym" can also refer to the title character of a fictional work (such as Rocky Balboa of the ''Rocky'' film series), as well as to ''self-titled'' works named after their creators (such as the album ''The Doors'' by the band the Doors).

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

created the eponymous Walt Disney Company, with his name similarly extended to theme parks such as

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort is an destination resort, entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Wa ...

. Medical eponymous terms are often called medical eponyms, although that usage is deprecable.

History

Periods have often been named after a ruler or other influential figure: * One of the first recorded cases of eponymy occurred in the second millennium BC, when the Assyrians named each year after a high official ('' limmu''). * In

ancient Greece Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...

, the

eponymous archon In ancient Greece the chief magistrate in various Greek city states was called eponymous archon (ἐπώνυμος ἄρχων, ''epōnymos archōn''). "Archon" (ἄρχων, pl. ἄρχοντες, ''archontes'') means "ruler" or "lord", frequently ...

was the highest magistrate in

classical Athens The city of Athens (, ''Athênai'' ; Modern Greek: Αθήναι, ''Athine'' ) during the classical period of ancient Greece (480–323 BC) was the major urban centre of the notable '' polis'' ( city-state) of the same name, located in Attica, ...

. Eponymous archons served a term of one year which took the name of that particular archon (e.g., 594 BC was named after Solon). Later historians provided yet another case of eponymy by referring to the period of fifth-century Athens as The Age of Pericles after its most influential statesman Pericles. * In Ptolemaic Egypt, the head priest of the Cult of Alexander and the Ptolemies was the eponymous priest after whom years were named. * The

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' 12 tribes of Israel, while Edomites (Gen. 25:30), Moabites and Ammonites (Gen. 19:30-38), Canaanites (Gen. 9:20-27) and other tribes (the Kenites named after Cain (Cain's life is detailed in Gen. 4:1-16)) are said to be named after other primal ancestors bearing their name. In most cases, the experiences and behavior of the ancestor is meant to indicate the characteristics of the people who take their name. * In

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

, one of the two formal ways of indicating a year was to cite the two annual

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

s who served in that year. For example, the year we know as 59 BC would have been described as "the consulship of Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus and Gaius Julius Caesar" (although that specific year was known jocularly as "the consulship of Julius and Caesar" because of the insignificance of Caesar's counterpart). Under the empire, the consuls would change as often as every two months, but only the two consuls at the beginning of the year would lend their names to that year. * During the Christian era, itself eponymous, many royal households used eponymous dating by regnal years. The Roman Catholic Church, however, eventually used the ''

Anno Domini The terms (AD) and before Christ (BC) are used when designating years in the Gregorian calendar, Gregorian and Julian calendar, Julian calendars. The term is Medieval Latin and means "in the year of the Lord" but is often presented using "o ...

'' dating scheme - based on the birth of Christ - on both the general public and royalty. The regnal year standard is still used with respect to statutes and law reports published in some parts of the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries (England abandoned this practice in 1963). * Government administrations may become referred to eponymously, such as '' Kennedy's Camelot'' and ''the Nixon Era''. * British monarchs have become eponymous throughout the English-speaking world for time periods, fashions, etc. '' Elizabethan'', '' Georgian'', '' Victorian'', and '' Edwardian'' are examples of these. Trends * Political trends or movements are often named after a government leader. Examples include '' Jacksonian democracy'', ''

Stalinism Stalinism (, ) is the Totalitarianism, totalitarian means of governing and Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from History of the Soviet Union (1927–1953), 1927 to 1953 by dictator Jose ...

'', '' Maoism'', '' Obamacare'', and '' Thatcherism''.

Other eponyms

* In

intellectual property law Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, ...

, an eponym can refer to a generic trademark or brand name, a form of

metonymy Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something associated with that thing or concept. For example, the word " suit" may refer to a person from groups commonly wearing business attire, such as sales ...

, such as aspirin,Bayer Co. v. United Drug Co., 272 F. 505 (S.D.N.Y. 1921)
, Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, accessed March 25th, 2011

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

and thermos''King-Seeley Thermos Co. v. Aladdin Indus., Inc.'', 321 F.2d 577 ( 2d Cir. 1963); see als
this PDF
in the United States. * In geography, places and towns can also be given an eponymous name through a relationship to an important figure. Peloponnesus, for instance, was said to derive its name from the Greek hero Pelops. In historical times, new towns have often been named (and older communities renamed) after their founders, discoverers, or notable individuals. Examples include Vancouver, British Columbia, named after explorer George Vancouver; and Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, originally called Isbister's Settlement but renamed after

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

's husband and consort in 1866. * In science and technology: ** Discoveries and innovations are often named after the discoverer or a figure influential in their advance. Examples are the Avogadro constant, the

Diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

, meitnerium,

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

, and the Apgar score. For a different view of the process see Stigler's law of eponymy. ** In biological nomenclature, organisms often receive

scientific name In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

s that honor a person. Examples are the plant '' Linnaea'' (after

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

), the baobab '' Adansonia'' (after Michel Adanson), and the moth ''

Caligula Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), also called Gaius and Caligula (), was Roman emperor from AD 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the Roman general Germanicus and Augustus' granddaughter Ag ...

'' (after the Roman emperor

). Common names can also be named after a person. Later, people may decide that they do not wish to memorialize a particular person, resulting in efforts to change a long-standing name. As debating each individual name is time-consuming, the American Ornithological Society announced in 2024 that they would establish new common names for all birds in North America that had previously been named after a person, without regard to whether modern culture would judge the person well or poorly. ** Relatedly, biomedical terminology uses many eponymous terms, and many also have noneponymous synonyms. ** Many astronomical objects are named after their discoverer or another person. * In art: ** Plays, books, and other forms of entertainment may have eponymous names, such as the ancient Greek epic '' The Odyssey'', derived from its principal character, Odysseus, and the novel '' Robinson Crusoe''. ** The term is also used in the

music industry The music industry are individuals and organizations that earn money by Songwriter, writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music and sheet music, presenting live music, concerts, ...

, usually with regard to record titles, where it is prevalent and leads to confusion. For example, Bad Company's first album was entitled '' Bad Company'' and contained a popular song named " Bad Company". Parodying this, the band R.E.M. titled a 1988 compilation album '' Eponymous''. One especially convoluted case of eponyms is the 1969 song "

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...

", named after the 1963 movie ''Black Sabbath''; the band that wrote the song changed their name to

and released it on the album ''Black Sabbath''. * In tribal antiquity, both in ancient Greece and independently among the Hebrews, tribes often took the name of a legendary leader (as Achaeus for Achaeans, or Dorus for Dorians). The eponym gave apparent meaning to the mysterious names of tribes, and sometimes, as in the Sons of Noah, provided a primitive attempt at

ethnology Ethnology (from the , meaning 'nation') is an academic field and discipline that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology). Sci ...

as well, in the genealogical relationships of eponymous originators.

Orthographic conventions

Capitalized versus lowercase

* Because proper nouns are capitalized in English, the usual default for eponyms is to capitalize the eponymous part of a term. When used as proper adjectives they are normally capitalized, for example Victorian, Shakespearean, and Kafkaesque. * However, some eponymous adjectives and

noun adjunct In grammar, a noun adjunct, attributive noun, qualifying noun, noun (pre)modifier, or apposite noun is an optional noun that grammatical modifier, modifies another noun; functioning similarly to an adjective, it is, more specifically, a noun funct ...

s are nowadays entered in many dictionaries as lowercase when they have evolved a common status, no longer deriving their meaning from the proper-noun origin. For example, ''Herculean'' when referring to Hercules himself, but often ''herculean'' when referring to the figurative, generalized extension sense; and ''quixotic'' and ''diesel engine'' owercase only For any given term, one dictionary may enter only lowercase or only cap, whereas other dictionaries may recognize the capitalized version as a variant, either equally common as, or less common than, the first-listed styling (marked with labels such as "or", "also", "often", or "sometimes"). ''

The Chicago Manual of Style ''The Chicago Manual of Style'' (''CMOS'') is a style guide for American English published since 1906 by the University of Chicago Press. Its 18 editions (the most recent in 2024) have prescribed writing and citation styles widely used in publ ...

'', in its section "Words derived from proper names", gives some examples of both lowercase and capitalized stylings, including a few terms styled both ways, and says, "Authors and editors must decide for themselves, but whatever choice is made should be followed consistently throughout a work." * When the eponym is used together with a noun, the common-noun part is not capitalized (unless it is part of a title or it is the first word in a sentence). For example, in ''Parkinson disease'' (named after James Parkinson), ''Parkinson'' is capitalized, but ''disease'' is not. In addition, the adjectival form, where one exists, is usually lowercased for medical terms (thus '' parkinsonian'' although ''Parkinson disease''), and

gram-negative Gram-negative bacteria are bacteria that, unlike gram-positive bacteria, do not retain the crystal violet stain used in the Gram staining method of bacterial differentiation. Their defining characteristic is that their cell envelope consists ...

gram-positive In bacteriology, gram-positive bacteria are bacteria that give a positive result in the Gram stain test, which is traditionally used to quickly classify bacteria into two broad categories according to their type of cell wall. The Gram stain is ...

although Gram stain. Uppercase Gram-positive or Gram-negative however are also commonly used in

scientific journal In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication designed to further the progress of science by disseminating new research findings to the scientific community. These journals serve as a platform for researchers, schola ...

articles and publications. In other fields, the eponym derivative is commonly capitalized, for example, ''Newtonian'' in physics, and '' Platonic'' in philosophy (however, use lowercase ''platonic'' when describing love). The capitalization is retained after a prefix and hyphen, e.g. ''non-Newtonian''. For examples, see the comparison table below.

Genitive versus attributive

* English can use either genitive case or attributive position to indicate the adjectival nature of the eponymous part of the term. (In other words, that part may be either possessive or non-possessive.) Thus ''Parkinson's disease'' and ''Parkinson disease'' are both acceptable. Medical dictionaries have been shifting toward nonpossessive styling in recent decades., chapter 16: Eponyms. Thus ''Parkinson disease'' is more likely to be used in the latest medical literature (especially in postprints) than ''Parkinson's disease''.

National varieties of English

American and British English spelling differences Despite the various list of dialects of English, English dialects spoken from country to country and within different regions of the same country, there are only slight regional variations in English orthography, the two most notable variati ...

may apply to eponyms. For example, British style would typically be '' caesarean section'', which is also found in American medical publications, but ''cæsarean section'' (with a ligature) is sometimes seen in (mostly older) British writing, and ''cesarean'' is preferred by American dictionaries and some American medical works. Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) of the United States National Library of Medicine (NLM) use
"cesarean section"
, while the also US-published ''Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary'' use
"caesarean"
. The online versions of th
''Merriam-Webster Dictionary''
an
''American Heritage Dictionary''
list "cesarean" first and other spellings as "variants", an etymologically anhistorical position.

Comparison table of eponym orthographic styling

Lists of eponyms

By person's name * List of eponyms (A–K) * List of eponyms (L–Z) By category * Adages * Adjectives *

Asteroids An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...

* Astronomical objects * Cartoon characters *

Chemical elements A chemical element is a chemical substance whose atoms all have the same number of protons. The number of protons is called the atomic number of that element. For example, oxygen has an atomic number of 8: each oxygen atom has 8 protons in i ...

* Colleges and universities *

Companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether natural, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specifi ...

* Diseases * Foods * Human anatomical parts * Ideologies *

Inventions An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

* Mathematical theorems * Medical signs * Medical treatments * Minerals * Observations * Places and political entities * Prizes, awards and medals * Scientific constants * Scientific equations * Scientific laws * Scientific phenomena * Scientific units * Sports terms * Surgical procedures * Tests * Trademarks or brand names

References

External links

Definitions of -nym words
at Fun-with-Words.com
WhoNamedIt.com
a database of medical eponyms
''Eponyms explored'', BBC ideas, 2019
{{Personal names Figures of speech