eponymous

adjective

epon·y·mous i-ˈpä-nə-məs

: of, relating to, or being the person or thing for whom or which something is named : of, relating to, or being an eponym

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What’s in a name? If the name is eponymous, a name is in the name: an eponymous brand, café, river, or ice cream is named for someone or something. And because English is beastly sometimes, the one lending the name to the brand, café, river, or ice cream can also be described as eponymous. This means that if Noah Webster owns a bookstore called “Webster’s Books,” it’s an eponymous bookstore, and Noah himself is the bookstore’s eponymous owner. Most of the time, though, we see eponymous describing a thing named for a person—for example, an eponymous brand named for a designer, or a band’s eponymous album titled only with the band’s name. The related word eponym is less ambiguous: it refers to the one for whom someone or something is named. At our hypothetical “Webster’s Books,” Noah Webster is the bookstore’s eponym. Appropriately enough, the Greek root of both words is onyma, meaning “name.”

Examples of eponymous in a Sentence

… Ramayana, an Indian epic which chronicles, in sixty thousand verses, the adventures of its eponymous hero Rama … —

Leila Hadley, Give Me the World, (1958) 1999

"Cool Britannia," which goes back to Ben and Jerry's eponymous ice cream in Spring 1996, met its sell-by-date within weeks … —

Harold Perkin, Times Literary Supplement, 18 Dec. 1998

Karen Hubert Allison, the eponymous (if you count middle names) creator of Hubert's, didn't know she was making dining history … —

Peter Kaminsky, New York Times Book Review, 11 May 1997

Recent Examples on the Web

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According to a Wednesday statement by California State Parks, fires that spread through Will Rogers State Historic Park engulfed the eponymous 1930s actor’s ranch house. —

Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Jan. 2025 Those who want to chow down on Mina’s fare during their trip to Las Vegas still have plenty of options, though: The chef operates five other restaurants in the city, including an outpost of his Bourbon Steak and the eponymous Michael Mina restaurant. —

Tori Latham, Robb Report, 8 Jan. 2025 During a Tuesday, Jan. 7, appearance on Sherri Shepherd’s eponymous daytime talk show to promote his new Fox medical drama Doc, the actor, 56, looked back on a moment when an A-list star asked to meet him at a party, leaving him shocked at the show’s viewership. —

Angel Saunders, People.com, 8 Jan. 2025 The trio quickly achieved success with their eponymous debut album, which entered the Billboard top 10 and led to a record deal with Warner Bros. —

Shania Russell, EW.com, 7 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for eponymous