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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

Mario, who asked to be identified by only his first name because of his pending immigration case, is among seven workers who U.S.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2026

A Broad visitor experience team member, whose first name is Ash, was especially touched by a wish written in Spanish.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026

El Dorado is controlled by a gangster known only by his first name, Fabio, a Pablo Escobar-type character who has ingratiated himself with locals through acts of charity.

From Barron's ● Jun. 4, 2026

What kind of world is it, Ben thought, that lets its coaches die without his boys around him, buying him Cokes, calling him by his first name, and rubbing his shoulder with Atomic Balm?

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy

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

She’s a diminutive talent on a first-name basis with South Carolina coach Dawn Staley.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 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

He and Traynor were now on a first-name basis.

From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple

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

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 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

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

Besides these, buckwheat, barley, and canary seed may sometimes be given; but the first-named constitute a good variety and should be used as a constant feed.

From Profitable Squab Breeding by Dare, Carl

"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

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

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

Related Words

• given name