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.
For instance, PepsiCo has its own namesake prebiotic cola with fiber, which it made available nationwide in February.
From MarketWatch • May 10, 2026
Lucas’ role at his namesake museum has also not always been clear, and the museum’s development has been marked by a series of high-profile staff shakeups.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 30, 2026
There are its namesake drugstores, but also pharmacy-benefits manager Caremark, insurer Aetna, primary-care center Oak Street Health, and in-home services provider Signify Health.
From Barron's • Apr. 30, 2026
President Trump feted the biggest holders of his namesake memecoin on Saturday, cheering on a crypto market still fighting through a monthslong slump.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 25, 2026
Something told me that in the myth Medusa had been asleep when she was attacked by my namesake, Perseus.
From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan
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.
