as in nickname
a descriptive or familiar name given instead of or in addition to the one belonging to an individual
Thomas Edward Lawrence is better known to most people by his byname, Lawrence of Arabia
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Recent Examples of byname
Robert the Wise was a good teacher — and, as his byname suggests, a good role model.
—
Anne Thériault, Longreads, 3 July 2018
Anne Thériault, Longreads, 3 July 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for byname
Noun
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The nickname would stick throughout his playing career and into his managerial career.—
Patrick Damp,
CBS News,
12 Apr. 2026
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Felcsút is the hometown of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, and his family's weekend home sits across the street from the stadium, which carries the nickname of Ferenc Puskás, Hungary's most famous soccer player from the 1950s.—
Rob Schmitz,
NPR,
11 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Roboz was a Hungarianized version of her surname, though still considered Jewish in origin.—
Marcy Thompson,
Scientific American,
16 Apr. 2026
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The top five American surnames — Smith, Johnson, Williams, Brown and Jones — remained unchanged from 2010 to 2020, but Asian surnames surged to become the fastest-growing in the decade.—
Mike Schneider,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Apr. 2026
Noun
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White supremacist Nick Fuentes, in a video, praised the post while using a racist epithet in his commentary.—
Kevin Dolak,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Apr. 2026
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Tensions rose, neighbors said, to the point that King was heard at times swearing at Kirsten Wells as well as others using vulgar epithets.—
Laura Bauer,
Kansas City Star,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Inside the little toy are over 5 million names on an SD card, submitted by folks around the world looking to fly their monikers to the moon.—
Elizabeth Howell,
Space.com,
13 Apr. 2026
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Others prefer popular monikers.—
Erica Jackson Curran,
Parents,
10 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Byname.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/byname. Accessed 18 Apr. 2026.
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