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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

In 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. 18, 2026

For 19-year-old Li from Shanghai, who didn't give her first name, these are places where she "can see so many possibilities, and where existing ideas can be challenged".

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

“Misha’s on his own here,” the lawmaker said, using another version of Fedorov’s first name.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

Begum, who did not give her first name, told AFP she had been turned away by many factories in Gazipur despite having experience in sewing and hemming.

From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026

I didn’t know it because I never would have called him by his first name.

From "Landscape with Invisible Hand" by M.T. Anderson

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 says he made several visits to A&E during attacks, to the point he was known on a first-name basis.

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026

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

“We know these guys on a first-name basis,” said Trey Espy, assistant L.A.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2026

She’s also on a first-name basis with a local plumber, who’s learning to deal with my pushy roots.

From "Wishtree" by Katherine Applegate

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

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

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

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 was a very stout man, muffled up in a thick great-coat and a fur-cap, with wings that came close down over his ears, and were tied under his chin.

From The Danes Sketched by Themselves. Vol. II (of 3) A Series of Popular Stories by the Best Danish Authors by Various

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

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

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

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

Related Words

• given name