eponymous

adjective

epon·​y·​mous i-ˈpä-nə-məs 

e-

: of, relating to, or being the person or thing for whom or which something is named : of, relating to, or being an eponym

Did you know?

What’s in a name? If the name is eponymous, a name is in the name: an eponymous brand, café, river, or ice cream is named for someone or something. And because English is beastly sometimes, the one lending the name to the brand, café, river, or ice cream can also be described as eponymous. This means that if Noah Webster owns a bookstore called “Webster’s Books,” it’s an eponymous bookstore, and Noah himself is the bookstore’s eponymous owner. Most of the time, though, we see eponymous describing a thing named for a person—for example, an eponymous brand named for a designer, or a band’s eponymous album titled only with the band’s name. The related word eponym is less ambiguous: it refers to the one for whom someone or something is named. At our hypothetical “Webster’s Books,” Noah Webster is the bookstore’s eponym. Appropriately enough, the Greek root of both words is onyma, meaning “name.”

Examples of eponymous in a Sentence

… Ramayana, an Indian epic which chronicles, in sixty thousand verses, the adventures of its eponymous hero Rama … —Leila Hadley, Give Me the World, (1958) 1999

"Cool Britannia," which goes back to Ben and Jerry's eponymous ice cream in Spring 1996, met its sell-by-date within weeks … —Harold Perkin, Times Literary Supplement, 18 Dec. 1998

Karen Hubert Allison, the eponymous (if you count middle names) creator of Hubert's, didn't know she was making dining history … —Peter Kaminsky, New York Times Book Review, 11 May 1997

Recent Examples on the Web

Set in an eponymous small town in New Mexico during May 2020, the film follows a sheriff (Joaquin Phoenix) who becomes outraged by a mask mandate enforced by the town’s slick progressive mayor (Pedro Pascal), who may or may not have a history with his wife (Emma Stone). —Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 26 June 2025

Along with watching Galactus's massive feet stomping through New York City, the trailer shows what appears to be a meeting in space between the villain and the eponymous team. —Michileen Martin, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 June 2025

The Peruvian immigrant, who finds home here in a series of eponymous children’s books, seems to understand the city better than many born here. —Emma John, AFAR Media, 24 June 2025

Throughout the last six seasons of her eponymous talk show, Clarkson has been surprised multiple times by a flurry of different guests. —Emlyn Travis Published, EW.com, 24 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

see eponym

First Known Use

1846, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for eponymous

• anonymous
• autonomous
• economise
• synonymous

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Medical Definition

eponymous

adjective

epon·​y·​mous i-ˈpän-ə-məs, e- 

: of, relating to, or named after an eponym

those eponymous genetic conditions … such as … Friedreich's ataxia

—R. O. Brady