variants
or cognomina
1
as in nicknames
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 names
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cognomens
Noun
-
Still, Avila, the college basketball cult sensation dubbed Cream Abdul-Jabbar (or Milk Chamberlain or SLU Alcindor, among many other nicknames), is likely to be the most important player on the floor.—
Ralph D. Russo,
New York Times,
21 Mar. 2026 -
The inside jokes, the nicknames, the handshakes, singing the songs together.—
Ethan Shanfeld,
Variety,
18 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Many missed their flights and scrambled to book later flights or add themselves to standby lists that were already dozens of names long.—
SEUNG MIN KIM,
Arkansas Online,
23 Mar. 2026
-
Legislation like the federal SAVE America Act and Florida’s SB 1334 which just passed the Florida House and Senate, create an issue for voters who have identity documents where the names do not match identically.—
Delmarie Alicea,
The Orlando Sentinel,
22 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
For her and many other Iranians who spoke to CNN – their surnames withheld to protect their identities – the past three weeks have been filled with a sense of hopelessness and fear.—
Leila Gharagozlou,
CNN Money,
20 Mar. 2026
-
In sports, some siblings are so accomplished that they can be recognized by only their surnames.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
8 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Similarly moralistic monikers were used in the war in Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom) and the 2003 invasion of Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom).—
Harmeet Kaur,
CNN Money,
4 Mar. 2026
-
Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, moved out of Royal Lodge in February 2026, three months after Charles stripped him of his royal titles, including his HRH and prince monikers, in November 2025.—
Jason Pham,
StyleCaster,
2 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
On that day, the mob hurled racist epithets, smoke bombs, and fists at him.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
4 Feb. 2026
-
When the time came for Alan Cumming to cease deliberations, Michael was reduced to sputtering epithets in random sequences.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
16 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
With district titles, both teams will help Carroll in its quest for the Class 6A Lone Star Cup, awarded to Texas’ top-performing school in district and state championships.—
Charles Baggarly,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
23 Mar. 2026
-
These Lucky Day selections will include books by the most popular authors, the latest installments in the hottest series and the must-read titles of the season.—
Ashlee Conour,
Chicago Tribune,
23 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The first is whether TPS designations are reviewable by the courts and if so, whether the TPS holders have some valid claims.—
Zoe Sobel,
NPR,
16 Mar. 2026
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The Department of Homeland Security has also moved to terminate TPS designations for at least a dozen other countries, including Afghanistan, Nicaragua, Somalia and Yemen.—
Melissa Quinn,
CBS News,
16 Mar. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Cognomens.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cognomens. Accessed 26 Mar. 2026.
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