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• first name
  first name

  noun

  given name.
• first-name
  first-name

  adjective

  of or relating to one's first, or given, name; familiar; intimate.

first name

¹ American  

noun

first names plural

1. given name.

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first-name ² American  

[furst-neym, furst-neym] / ˈfɜrstˌneɪm, ˈfɜrstˈneɪm /

adjective

1. of or relating to one's first, or given, name; familiar; intimate.

   They were on a first-name basis soon after meeting.

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verb (used with object)

first-named, first-naming

1. to address (someone) by their first name, especially as a sign of informality or familiarity.

   The boss doesn't like the employees to first-name her.

first name British  

noun

1. Also called: Christian name.   forename.   given name.  a name given to a person at birth, as opposed to a surname

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• first names
  plural

Etymology

Origin of first name¹

Middle English word dating back to 1200–50

Origin of first-name²

First recorded in 1300–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

first name first-name first-named first-naming

For cultural commentator Coco, who goes by her first name and has amassed more than 100,000 followers on TikTok analysing Love Island, this reflects an important distinction.

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026

If his first name inevitably evokes Arthurian legend, Fery’s march through the draw gave Britain reason to believe again.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026

The story of his first name - in honour of the actor Denzel Washington - is fairly widely known.

From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026

He kept Stanley and took Paul as a first name.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026

It's the first time Grandma Rose has ever used Didu's first name.

From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins

For decades, Graham was on a first-name basis with world leaders and among the most plugged-in Beltway insiders regardless of who occupied the White House.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

It was only his first game in purple and gold since being stolen from the Dallas Mavericks nine days ago, yet Luka Doncic and the Laker fans were already on a first-name basis.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2025

He was also part of the thinking to famously drop the donuts from Dunkin' to move "to a first-name basis with America", given it was also one of country's the biggest coffee sellers.

From BBC ● Nov. 23, 2024

Five years ago, Carper and Vanselous weren’t on a first-name basis with these plants, and if not for that wet spot in their New Jersey backyard, they might not have started down the willow path.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 6, 2024

Some animals simply nod at each other in passing, never reaching even a first-name relationship.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas

Jefferson is the first-named of the 12 authors on the paper, but it appears from the text that he had relatively little to do with it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 24, 2023

In the '70s, I am first-named on first meeting more often than not.

From Time Magazine Archive

Blessed with an adhesive memory for names and faces, he firstnamed countless delegates at Brotherhood conventions over the years, and in 1953 he first-named his way into the presidency of the Brotherhood.

From Time Magazine Archive

Thus far the first-named class has been acquainted with declining activity; now the manufacturers of finished goods are about to feel it; next Spring, if not before, the mercantile world should be reached by it.

From Time Magazine Archive

The first-named is a strong, corpulent man of about 45; the latter is much older, and seemed very much dejected; he has however just recovered from sickness, which may account for it.

From Narrative of the Circumnavigation of the Globe by the Austrian Frigate Novara, Volume II (Commodore B. Von Wullerstorf-Urbair,) Undertaken by Order of the Imperial Government in the Years 1857, 1858, & 1859, Under the Immediate Auspices of His I. and R. Highness the Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, Commander-In-Chief of the Austrian Navy. by Scherzer, Karl Ritter von

The public saw him as a reserved, almost gentle man who quietly repelled intimacy; even first-naming Franklin Roosevelt invariably called him "General."

From Time Magazine Archive

Watch John Connally attempting to prove what an amiable fellow he is by jovially first-naming Mike Wallace all through the 60 Minutes program in which Wallace skillfully cuts him up.

From Time Magazine Archive

"I don't see how you do it," he said one day when two old friends were first-naming each other.

From Time Magazine Archive

Too quick first-naming is like stepping into that critical distance within which an animal will attack a trespasser.

From Time Magazine Archive

Related Words

• given name