big name

plural big names

1. idiomaticA widely-known reputation, especially one that is favorable.

   Solly had carried on the old business, and was making a big name for himself.

   1909, P. G. Wodehouse, chapter 2, in The Swoop! or How Clarence Saved England

   2 more examples

   He made a big name in the war. And since he's been in the ranger service he's done wonders.

   1915, Zane Grey, chapter 11, in The Lone Star Ranger

   Do you want to go out there and do the right things or do you want to make that big hit to gain a big name?

   2013 January 29, Benjamin Hoffman, “At Media Day, Spotlight on Head Injuries Grows”, in New York Times, retrieved 10 Oct 2013

   Synonyms: fame, recognition, renown

2. idiomaticA prominent individual, especially one who is favorably regarded.

   All the big Hollywood names were present.

   3 more examples

   "You don't want me, you want a big name. They're all set to hang you over there. . . . It's a job for the biggest and best criminal lawyer in town."

   1917, Sherwood Anderson, chapter 4, in Marching Men

   With the big names of Europe assembled in Washington for the signing of the Atlantic Pact, the pact itself and its implications continue to be the world's biggest story.

   1949 April 10, Owen Lattimore, "Big Problem is to Make UN Work, Too," Sunday Herald (Connecticut USA), p. 12 (retrieved 10 Oct 2013)

   [J]ust before Christmas 1983 . . . our editors were alerted that the surrealist painter Joan Miro had died. (A big name almost always dies around Christmas.)

   2004 Mach 26, Richard Corliss, "That Old Feeling at 100," Time (retrieved 10 Oct 2013)

   Synonyms: celebrity, luminary, notable, baron, big cheese, big enchilada, big gun, big kahuna