demonym

D2E1M3O1N1Y4M3
UK/ˈdɛmənɪm/

noun

A name for an inhabitant or native of a specific place, usually derived from the name of the place.

“Why is it that people from the United States use American as their demonym?”

Similar
gentilic
OriginAncient Greek δῆμος →
Scrabble 15
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Meanings

noundemonym (plural demonyms)

plural demonyms

  1. A name for an inhabitant or native of a specific place, usually derived from the name of the place.

    Why is it that people from the United States use American as their demonym?

  2. obsoleteA pseudonym formed of an adjective.

    The Logophile has my favourite demonym; I would write under it if he didn't.

Synonyms & antonyms

Similar
gentilic

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekδῆμος“people”
  2. Englishdemonym

From demo- + -onym, from Ancient Greek δῆμος (dêmos, “people”) + ὄνυμα (ónuma, “name”). Possibly revived in 1997 by Paul Dickson of Merriam-Webster.

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic نِسْبَة, دِيمُونِيم
  • نِسْبَة (nisba)name for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
  • دِيمُونِيم (dīmūnīm)name for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
Bulgarian демоним
  • демоним (demonim)name for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
Catalan gentilici
  • gentiliciname for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
Chinese Cantonese 當地居民嘅嗌法 /当地居民嘅嗌法
  • 當地居民嘅嗌法 /当地居民嘅嗌法 (dong¹ dei⁶ geoi¹ man⁴ ge³ aai³ faat³)name for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
Chinese Mandarin 區域居民稱謂詞 /区域居民称谓词
  • 區域居民稱謂詞 /区域居民称谓词 (qūyù jūmín chēngwèi cí)name for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
Danish indbyggerbetegnelse, demonym
  • indbyggerbetegnelsename for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
  • demonymname for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
Dutch volksnaam, demoniem
  • volksnaamname for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
  • demoniemname for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
  • inwonersnaamname for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
Esperanto demonimo
  • demonimoname for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
Finnish asukkaannimitys
  • asukkaannimitysname for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
French gentilé, ethnonyme
  • gentiléname for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
  • ethnonymename for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
  • démonymename for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
German Volksbezeichnung, Demonym
  • Volksbezeichnungname for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
  • Demonymname for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
Greek πατριδωνυμικό, δημωνύμιο
  • πατριδωνυμικό (patridonymikó)name for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
  • δημωνύμιο (dimonýmio)name for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
  • δημώνυμο (dimónymo)name for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
Hindi वासीनाम
  • वासीनाम (vāsīnām)name for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
Italian demonimo, etnonimo
  • demonimoname for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
  • etnonimoname for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
Korean 데모님
  • 데모님 (demonim)name for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
Latin dēmōny̆mum, gentīlicius
  • dēmōny̆mumname for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
  • gentīliciusname for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
Lithuanian demonimas
  • demonimasname for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
Norwegian Bokmål innbyggernavn, demonym
  • innbyggernavnname for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
  • demonymname for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
Polish określenie na mieszkańca
  • określenie na mieszkańcaname for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
Portuguese gentílico, gentilício
  • gentíliconame for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
  • gentilícioname for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
  • etnônimoname for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
  • demônimoname for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
  • adjetivo pátrioname for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
Romanian demonim, nume de locuitori
  • demonimname for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
  • nume de locuitoriname for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
Russian этнохоро́ним, этнико́н
  • этнохоро́ним (etnoxorónim)name for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
  • этнико́н (etnikón)name for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
  • демо́ним (demónim)name for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
Slovak demonym
  • demonymname for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
Spanish gentilicio
  • gentilicioname for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
Swedish invånarnamn, demonym
  • invånarnamnname for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
  • demonymname for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
Tamil நாட்டுப்பெயர், இராச்சியப்பெயர்
  • நாட்டுப்பெயர் (nāṭṭuppeyar)name for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
  • இராச்சியப்பெயர் (irācciyappeyar)name for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
Thai เดมะนิม
  • เดมะนิม (dee-má-nim)name for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
Turkish demonim
  • demonimname for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
Ukrainian демо́нім
  • демо́нім (demónim)name for an inhabitant or native of a specific place
Cite this entry
APA

demonym. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/demonym

MLA

“demonym.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/demonym. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “demonym,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/demonym.

Source: demonym on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.