first name
noun
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first-name
first-nameadjectiveof or relating to one's first, or given, name; familiar; intimate.
first name
1 Americannoun
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first names
plural
first-name
2
American
[furst-naym, furst-naym]
/ ˈfɜrstˌneɪm, ˈfɜrstˈneɪm /
adjective
verb (used with object)
first-named,
first-naming
first name
British
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of first name1
Middle English word dating back to 1200–50
Origin of first-name2
First recorded in 1300–50
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Because two invited children had the same first name, the agent smooshed them together as one child, and only one child was listed as coming.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
In his response to the Palace disputing his account, Earl Spencer, who shares his first name with the King, said: "They've sort of smudged that one, haven't they? They've said that recollections may vary."
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
The single came from an LP called “Mellow Gold,” but Beck—he generally performs under his first name only—released three LPs that year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
"Nothing has changed in Italy over the 45 years I've been on this planet and nothing will," said Maurizio, a sandal-wearing IT worker who preferred to give only his first name.
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
I can’t tell if it’s his last name or his first name or what.
From "Ask the Passengers" by A.S. King
The credibility of these lawyers earns their appeals special attention from the court, and the justices know many of them on a first-name basis.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026
He was quickly on a first-name basis with Paul Rudolph, the intimidating head of the school, and the influential art historian Vincent Scully.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 28, 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
He was soon on a first-name basis with then-Galaxy coach Sigi Schmid.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2024
She had the run of the ship, from the engine room to the bridge, and she was soon on first-name terms with all the crew.
From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman
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
The most vigorous action so far has been the application by the first-named for an injunction against the New York Sugar Exchange.
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
So commanding in character and performance was Marshall that even the supremely self-confident Franklin Roosevelt deferred to him, never first-named him.
From Time Magazine Archive
The first-named is a Roman Catholic; the second was a Unitarian; the third is an orthodox Churchman, and the fourth, as already seen, is a Spiritualist.
From Pioneers of Evolution from Thales to Huxley With an Intermediate Chapter on the Causes of Arrest of the Movement by Edward Clodd
"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
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
Too quick first-naming is like stepping into that critical distance within which an animal will attack a trespasser.
From Time Magazine Archive
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
