first name
noun
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first name
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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:
"It's quite disconcerting," said one who gave only his first name, Louis, when he found his line closed.
From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026
An unemployed former hotel employee who gave her first name as Oumy said as she marched on the weekend that she no longer believed in the government's promises.
From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026
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
That’s nine players who qualify to join a club or create a T-shirt: Which first name is spelled correctly?
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
“His first name is Eekeh,” I said, puffed with knowledge.
From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago
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
As Cressy drove up the street, Daryl Gross stopped to talk with her neighbor whom she didn’t quite know on a first-name basis.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 10, 2024
We’re even on a first-name basis now That’s how proud of myself I am.
From "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak
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
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
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
The first-named arose and bade me welcome, but I hastened forwards to see the face of her companion.
From The Danes Sketched by Themselves. Vol. III (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
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
"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
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