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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

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

The sticker will feature a butterfly — an image that Parton had long used in her logos — with the singer’s first name in her handwriting in the middle, all in Tennessee orange and white.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2026

After England defeated Mexico in the World Cup last 16, former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson said: "I think he's the first name on the team sheet. There is nobody else."

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 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

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2025

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

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

Thorez chummily first-named the ambassador: "We are all friends, aren't we, Alex, and brothers?"

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

Two Parmelias,314 one Evernia, and one Cladonia, the first-named overrunning the blocks on the edge of the crater with great luxuriance.

From Narrative of the Circumnavigation of the Globe by the Austrian Frigate Novara, Volume I (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 Karl Ritter von Scherzer

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

"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