Definition of: name

(nām) noun
1. The distinctive appellation by which a person or thing is known.
2. A descriptive or arbitrary appellation; designation; title.
3. General reputation; eminence; fame.
4. A person, cause, thing, or class, or the claims of authority thereof, as represented by the name.
5. An opprobrious appellation.
6. A race or family, as having a common descent and patronymic.
7. A memorable person, character, or thing: great names in music.
8. Mere sound or simulation, in distinction from substance or reality: a wife in name only.
—by the name of Named.
—v.t. named, nam·ing
1. To give a name to; entitle; style; term.
2. To mention or refer to by name; cite.
3. To designate for some particular purpose or office; nominate; appoint.
4. To give the name of; identify: Name the capital of Peru.
5. To set or specify, as a price or requirement. [OE nama]
—nam′er noun Synonyms (noun) : agnomen, appellation, cognomen, denomination, designation, epithet, style, title. Name in the most general sense includes all other words of this group; in the more limited sense a name is personal, an appellation is descriptive, a title is official. In the phrase William the Conqueror, king of England, William is the man's name, which belongs to him personally; Conqueror is the appellation which he won by his acquistion of England; king is the title denoting his royal rank. An epithet is given to mark some assumed characteristic, good or bad. Designation may be used in the sense of appellation, but is far broader and more general in meaning. One's personal name, as John or Mary, is given in infancy, and is often called the given or Christian, or first name. The cognomen is the family name which belongs to one by right of birth or marriage. In modern use, style is the legal designation by which a person or house is known in official or business relations. A denomination is a specific, and especially a collective name; the term is applied to a separate religious organization, also to money or notes of a certain value; as, The sum was in notes of the denomination of one thousand dollars. See TERM.