in the name of

preposition

With appeal to; by; often used to introduce oaths

“He put the house in the name of his children.”

Similar
on behalf of
OriginMiddle English in the name of →
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Meanings

preposition

alternative dated in name of

  1. With appeal to; by; often used to introduce oaths

    In the name of all things sacred, please stop that screaming!

  2. For the sake of.

    Synonyms: on behalf of

  3. By the authority of.

    In the name of the law, come out with your hands up.

  4. Under the name or possession of.

    He put the house in the name of his children.

  5. Under the designation or excuse of.

    These additional checks at airports are justified in the name of security.

    1 more example

    Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who led the 2014 coup against Yingluck's government in the name of ending political turmoil, has promised that an election will be held next year.

    2017 August 25, Amy Sawitta Lefevre & Panarat Thepgumpanat, “Thai junta seeks Yingluck's arrest as former PM skips court verdict”, in Reuters

Synonyms & antonyms

prepositionFor the sake of.

Similar
on behalf of

Origin

  1. Middle Englishin the name of
  2. Englishin the name of

From Middle English in the name of, in þe name of.

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic بِٱسْمِ, بِٱسْمِ
  • بِٱسْمِ (bismi)with appeal to
  • بِٱسْمِ (bismi)by the authority of
  • بِٱسْمِ (bismi)under the name of
  • بِٱسْمِ (bismi)under the excuse of
Czech ve jménu
  • ve jménuby the authority of
Dutch in naam van, namens
  • in naam vanwith appeal to
  • namensby the authority of
  • onder de naam vanunder the name of
Finnish nimessä, nimessä
  • nimessäwith appeal to
  • nimessäby the authority of
  • nimissäunder the name of
  • nimiinunder the name of
  • nimistäunder the name of
  • nimissäunder the excuse of
French au nom de, au nom de
  • au nom dewith appeal to
  • au nom deby the authority of
  • au nom deunder the name of
  • au nom deunder the excuse of
German im Namen, im Namen
  • im Namenwith appeal to
  • im Namenby the authority of
  • im Namenunder the name of
  • im Namenunder the excuse of
Hebrew בְּשֵׁם, עַל שׁוּם
  • בְּשֵׁם (beshém)by the authority of
  • עַל שׁוּם (al shum)under the name of
  • בְּשֵׁם (beshém)under the excuse of
Hungarian nevében, nevében
  • nevébenwith appeal to
  • nevébenby the authority of
  • nevébenunder the name of
  • nevébenunder the excuse of
Icelandic í bænum, í orðastað
  • í bænumwith appeal to
  • í orðastaðby the authority of
  • fyrir höndby the authority of
  • í nafniby the authority of
Irish in ainm, in ainm
  • in ainmwith appeal to
  • in ainmby the authority of
  • in ainmunder the name of
  • in ainmunder the excuse of
Persian به, به نامِ
  • به (be)with appeal to
  • به نامِ (be nâm-e)by the authority of
  • به نامِ (be nâm-e)under the name of
  • به اسمِ (be esm-e)under the excuse of
Polish w imieniu, w imieniu
  • w imieniuwith appeal to
  • w imieniuby the authority of
  • w imieniuunder the name of
  • w imięunder the excuse of
Russian во и́мя, и́менем
  • во и́мя (vo ímja)with appeal to
  • и́менем (ímenem)by the authority of
  • на и́мя (na ímja)under the name of
  • от и́мени (ot ímeni)under the excuse of
Welsh yn enw, yn enw
  • yn enwwith appeal to
  • yn enwby the authority of
  • yn enwunder the name of
  • yn enwunder the excuse of
Cite this entry
APA

in the name of. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20the%20name%20of

MLA

“in the name of.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20the%20name%20of. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “in the name of,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20the%20name%20of.

Source: in the name of on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.