namenesia

N1A1M3E1N1E1S1I1A1

noun

An inability to recall someone's name.

Scrabble 11
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Meanings

nounnamenesia (uncountable)
  1. humorousoftenuncountableAn inability to recall someone's name.

    namenesia -- "Disease" of forgetting names.

    2007, M. Larry Litwin, The ABC's of Strategic Communication: Thousands of Terms, Tips and Techniques, →ISBN, page 373
    4 more examples

    "Namenesia" can set in at the most inappropriate times! Frantically, as you hear the third ring, you yell to your wife in the den, "Honey! What's Jack Hollis's wife's first name?"

    1985, Russell H. Dilday, Personal Computer: A New Tool for Ministers, →ISBN, page 80

    I'm Ira Flatow. Anyone who knows me realizes I suffer from namenesia. I'm sure you've heard it on the air. I routinely forget the names of my guests.

    2005 August 19, “Improving Memory”, in NPR

    And maybe we can all relate. I know I can. Although I blame my namenesia on the fact that I don't watch television.

    2009 December 22, “Remembering That Person's Name”, in Scientific American

    Namenesia is a disease that only affects the memory retention of other people's names.

    2024, Rob Anderson, Gay Science: The Totally Scientific Examination of LGBTQ+ Culture, Myths, and Sterotypes, →ISBN

Origin

Blend of name + amnesia.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

namenesia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/namenesia

MLA

“namenesia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/namenesia. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “namenesia,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/namenesia.

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