namesake

Definition

An entity that lends its name to another entity.

Etymology

Mid-17th century. Equivalent to name + sake. From the phrase “for (one's) name's sake”, first found in Bible translations as a rendering of a Calque of Hebrew לְמַעַן שְׁמוֹ (l'má'an sh'mó) idiom meaning “to protect one's reputation” or possibly “vouched for by one's reputation”. A familiar example is in Psalm 23:3.

Example Sentences

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