mononym
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of mononym
First recorded in 1880–85 as a technical term in the biological and medical sciences; mono- ( def. ) + -onym ( def. )
Explanation
A mononym is a one-word name, like Madonna or Socrates. These days, most mononyms are adopted by people who were given at least two names when they were born. Early in his music career, Prince Rogers Nelson decided to change his name to a mononym, and he became famous as Prince. Other celebrities are widely known by a mononym, despite no official change to a single-word name; this is common for athletes, Bollywood stars, and artists. Egyptian pharaohs, Biblical figures, and ancient Greeks all had mononyms (think Tutankhamun, Eve, and Homer). The word mononym derives from Greek roots, monos, "single," and onoma, "name."
Vocabulary lists containing mononym
Florida's B.E.S.T. Roots: nym
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nym
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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.
The singer, known by the mononym Mandisa, took home the Grammy in the best contemporary Christian music category for her record Overcomer in 2014.
From BBC ● Apr. 20, 2024
To distance herself from that perpetration and the identity she had formed from it, Ensler chose to go by the mononym V. As she explains in her new book, “V is my freedom name.”
From Washington Post ● Feb. 14, 2023
LaChanze, who uses a mononym but was born Rhonda LaChanze Sapp, received glowing reviews.
From New York Times ● May 17, 2022
“I was named after my dad, Robert James Flynn. My last name was my nickname, which turned into my stage name. I legally became Flynn about six years ago,” he says about his mononym.
From Seattle Times ● May 11, 2022
“Star Wars’” Ewan McGregor plays the jet-setting 1970s designer known by the mononym “Halston” in this new limited series.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 9, 2021
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
