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"
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
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
-
The longtime chef at Miami’s Best Pizza recently opened his own joint called Thad’s Pizza, after his nickname.—
Madeleine Marr,
Miami Herald,
30 Sep. 2025
-
Bella’s — after Veliu’s grandmother’s nickname given by her husband — hopes to start serving customers sometime in November.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
29 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Like his father, Corde is a rapper who performs under the moniker Kalvin Love.—
Alyssa Davis,
PEOPLE,
24 Sep. 2025
-
Rocki Irish seems to be an homage to A$AP Rocky’s moniker.—
Lea Veloso,
StyleCaster,
24 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Use chapter titles or epithets to set up what’s coming.—
JD Barker,
Rolling Stone,
25 Sep. 2025
-
On his next broadcast, Maher convened guests like Ice Cube and Michael Eric Dyson to call him to task for using the epithet and to explore the issues about its us.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
19 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Investors saw this in quarterly earnings reports from Club holdings Meta Platforms, Amazon, and other Big Tech names, which raised their capital expenditures.—
Morgan Chittum,
CNBC,
1 Oct. 2025
-
The alert lists the products' names, UPC numbers, sizes, sell-through dates, store banner names and states for the affected products.—
Deputy News Editor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The Marvin's Room star originally changed her surname to Keaton, her mother's maiden name, because there was another actress named Diane Hall in the Actors' Equity Association, according to Vogue.—
Jodi Guglielmi,
PEOPLE,
25 Sep. 2025
-
Many descendants of the original settlers — with surnames like Crockett, Parks and Thomas — have remained to this day.—
Julie Depenbrock,
NPR,
22 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
A day after clinching the division title, the Dodgers did not take batting practice on the field but Muncy took ground balls at third base for quite awhile and seemed to be moving freely.—
Bill Plunkett,
Oc Register,
27 Sep. 2025
-
Deilus has found that many of her customers like to style vintage books on shelves or coffee tables and will keep her eyes peeled for interesting titles while thrifting.—
Sarah Lyon,
Southern Living,
27 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Despite its Air Jordan nomenclature, the mule does not feature Air technology.—
Riley Jones,
Footwear News,
21 Sep. 2025
-
Regardless of the nomenclature, the whiskey has already earned Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, an accolade that underscores Bardstown’s ability to merge American whiskey character with French refinement.—
Andy Vasoyan,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cognomen.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cognomen. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share