namesake

plural namesakes

1. An entity that lends its name to another entity.

   Synonyms: eponym

   1. A person with the same name as another.

      The statesman Winston Churchill has a namesake, the American novelist Winston Churchill.

      2 more examples

      Chris Evans, British DJ and media manipulator extraordinaire, is not to be confused with Chris Evans, Australia's shadow minister for family services, nor with Chris Evans, the late train robber of the wilds of west California, or indeed potentially hundreds of other namesakes. One unquestionable aspect of this Chris Evans is that he is unique.

      2001 June 29, Deborah Schofield, “Chris Evans”, in The Guardian

      Look at our namesakes too. There's Tom, of course - a bit creepy now but he definitely had his moments. There's Davy Jones out of the Monkees. Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones preferred Jones to his birth name Baldwin. And he's quite cool. There's an American brokerage firm called Edward Jones which perhaps isn't so cool.

      2006 October 28, Laura Jones, “Why I'm keeping up with the Joneses...”, in The Guardian

      Synonyms: eponym, homonym

   2. One who is named after another, often a child named after the parent or an ancestor.

      Bill Sr's namesake, Bill Jr, is 30 years younger.

      Synonyms: eponym, homonym

   3. One for whom another is named, often the parent or ancestor who gave the name to a child.

      Bill Jr's namesake, Bill Sr, is 30 years older.

      1 more example

      It is the only citation from 1902, and was clearly added to the manuscript at a late stage, being only one of two examples of the dictionary’s namesake actually discovered by Crooke.

      2018, James Lambert, “Setting the Record Straight: An In-depth Examination of Hobson-Jobson”, in International Journal of Lexicography, volume 31, number 4, →DOI, page 493

      Synonyms: eponym, homonym, eponym

2. broadlySomething (especially a ship, a building, or a medical condition, symptom, or sign) that is named after someone or something.

   Synonyms: eponym

present singular third person namesakes · participle present namesaking · participle past namesaked · past namesaked

1. transitiveTo name (somebody) after somebody else.