1
as in nickname
a descriptive or familiar name given instead of or in addition to the one belonging to an individual
richly deserved the cognomen of "Butterfingers"
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2
as in moniker
a word or combination of words by which a person or thing is regularly known
"Christopher Columbus" is the Latinized cognomen of the navigator who was known to his Spanish crewmates as Cristóbal Colón
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Recent Examples of cognomen
Part of the Tuscia — cognomen of lush forested Viterbo, crossed by the ancient Roman Francigena road and land of the Etruscans before that — Gradoli is also volcanic.
—
Susan H. Gordon, Forbes, 3 Sep. 2021
The cognomen, or surname, of the Oba is Ekpen-owa, or home leopard.
—NOLA.com, 1 Feb. 2021
Moore submitted dozens of wonderful, wondrous cognomens, including Mongoose Civique, Regina-rex, Aeroterre, Dearborn Diamanté and the deathless Utopian Turtletop.
—Dan Neil, WSJ, 20 Mar. 2020
Denmark, Iceland, Hungary and Saudi Arabia also enforce specific naming conventions where common American cognomens might not make the cut.
—Caroline Picard, Good Housekeeping, 26 Sep. 2017
Susan H. Gordon, Forbes, 3 Sep. 2021
The cognomen, or surname, of the Oba is Ekpen-owa, or home leopard.
—NOLA.com, 1 Feb. 2021
Moore submitted dozens of wonderful, wondrous cognomens, including Mongoose Civique, Regina-rex, Aeroterre, Dearborn Diamanté and the deathless Utopian Turtletop.
—Dan Neil, WSJ, 20 Mar. 2020
Denmark, Iceland, Hungary and Saudi Arabia also enforce specific naming conventions where common American cognomens might not make the cut.
—Caroline Picard, Good Housekeeping, 26 Sep. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cognomen
Noun
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McCallum earned his nickname by repeatedly punching the body and head.—
Steve Henson,
Los Angeles Times,
2 June 2025
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It’s even named after his childhood nickname, Kurky.—
Celia Shatzman,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2025
Noun
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That painting, Past Times (1997), appeared in Marshall’s traveling retrospective and was won by Combs, also known by the moniker Diddy, at Sotheby’s.—
Alex Greenberger for ARTNews,
Robb Report,
23 May 2025
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Gravely lived up to that moniker Friday with a walk-off single for Santa Margarita in a 5-4 win over Los Alamitos in the CIF-SS Division 1 quarterfinals at Santa Margarita High.—
Michael Huntley,
Oc Register,
23 May 2025
Noun
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The film shows footage of counter-protesters coming onto campus, slinging epithets.—
Doreen St. Félix,
New Yorker,
17 May 2025
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Shiloh Hendrix, the Minnesota mom filmed repeatedly saying the N-word after being accused of using that epithet to berate a child, has raised more than $750,000 since launching a fundraising campaign one week ago.—
Brian Niemietz,
New York Daily News,
8 May 2025
Noun
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Investors should therefore move away from import-dependent names and toward companies that are actively rerouting supply chains and accelerating investment in reshoring sensitive sectors, Leung added.—
Lee Ying Shan,Anniek Bao,
CNBC,
29 May 2025
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The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office has not released the person’s name or age.—
Emerson Clarridge,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
29 May 2025
Noun
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The words were names, surnames, dates, cities and towns, sometimes with illustrations for reference, according to the release.—
Irene Wright,
Miami Herald,
30 May 2025
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And that’s without mentioning him taking on his team’s name as his surname.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
29 May 2025
Noun
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Following his time at Boise State, Petersen coached the Washington Huskies from 2014 to 2019, guiding them to two Pac-12 titles and a berth in the 2016 College Football Playoff.—
Shaun Goodwin,
Idaho Statesman,
2 June 2025
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The 25-year-old is the first Swede to win a US Women’s Open since Annika Sörenstam earned her third title in 2006.—
Julia Andersen,
CNN Money,
2 June 2025
Noun
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The nomenclature for the model comes from the engine’s number of cylinders and its volume—in this case a straight-eight mill with a little over 2,300 cc of displacement (2,336 cc to be exact).—
Viju Mathew,
Robb Report,
14 May 2025
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Abiding by Soviet-era nomenclature rules, spacecraft that remain in orbit around the Earth are dubbed Kosmos, followed by a number—in this case, Kosmos 482.—
Jeffrey Kluger,
Time,
7 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cognomen.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cognomen. Accessed 7 Jun. 2025.
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