namesake
Americannoun
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a person or thing named after another or whose name is given to another person or thing.
Little Dora lay asleep in the arms of her namesake, great-aunt Dora.
The memory of Robert and Signe McMichael is honored in their namesake, the McMichael Canadian Art Collection.
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a person or thing having the same name as another.
The cities of Hyderabad, Pakistan, and Hyderabad, India, are namesakes.
noun
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a person or thing named after another
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a person or thing with the same name as another
Etymology
Origin of namesake
First recorded in 1640–50; alteration of name's ( name + 's 1 ) sake 1
Explanation
If your parents named you after your Great Uncle Abner, then you are his namesake. The two of you share a very nice name. Use the noun namesake to describe the recipient of a handed-down name, like Bob Jr., or Ricky Smith III. Less often, the word also means anyone who shares a name with someone else, so you could refer to all the Emmas in your school as namesakes. The first recorded use of the word namesake was in the mid-1600s, and it probably began as the phrase "for the name's sake," before being condensed into a single word.
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 LV monogram was designed in 1896 by Georges Vuitton, the offspring of the brand’s namesake founder.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026
"We will not accept raising the issue of weapons in this crude manner," said Abu Ubaida, whose namesake was killed in an Israeli strike last year.
From BBC • Apr. 6, 2026
Grace and Faith must work together, using their namesake virtues to outsmart the scoundrels and stay alive, and to say it’s far less effective than it was seven years ago is an understatement.
From Salon • Mar. 29, 2026
Dwight Schar, founder of one of the U.S.’s largest home builders, displays part of his collection at his namesake bar in Northern Virginia.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 23, 2026
His response seems directed more toward my namesake than me.
From "Will Grayson, Will Grayson" by John Green and David Levithan
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.
