eponymous

adjective

epon·​y·​mous i-ˈpä-nə-məs 

e-

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

Did you know?

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

Bianca Saunders The eponymous menswear brand, founded in 2017, teeters between tradition and breaking conformity of what is masculine and feminine through design. —Kerane Marcellus, Essence, 4 June 2024

Peppa Pig and her family and friends from the eponymous show are everywhere—from books to toys to attractions. —Amanda Gerut, Fortune Europe, 1 June 2024

In another clip from Lake’s eponymous chat show, the host offered a slightly more diplomatic take on one teenage goth’s appearance. —John Russell, Peoplemag, 28 May 2024

Set within the Green Mountains, the property opened in late 2023 at 630 Main Street in its eponymous town. —Tori Latham, Robb Report, 16 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

see eponym

First Known Use

1846, in the meaning defined above

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Medical Definition

eponymous

adjective

epon·​y·​mous i-ˈpän-ə-məs, e- 

: of, relating to, or named after an eponym

those eponymous genetic conditions … such as … Friedreich's ataxia

—R. O. Brady