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
-
She’s guarded, gives her co-workers obnoxious nicknames, and is always ready with a snarky comment.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
19 Apr. 2026 -
The French newspaper has given him various nicknames during the past four decades, tracing the arc of his public reputation.—
Amanda Gerut,
Fortune,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The truth in this story seems to be elusive and unknowable, and this circles back to your earlier question about what kind of assumptions are made about people with names like Saïd or Tamerlan.—
Cressida Leyshon,
New Yorker,
26 Apr. 2026
-
The sandwiches derive their names from the city’s streets.—
Stephanie Breijo,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Such hospitality was reserved for a narrow category of humanity, resembling as closely as possible those local barons whose surnames crusted the stones of local cemeteries.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
24 Apr. 2026
-
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
-
Big Bear’s most famous bald eagle family is growing, and now the public has a chance to help choose the monikers for its newest members.—
Cierra Morgan,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Apr. 2026
-
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
Noun
-
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
-
On that day, the mob hurled racist epithets, smoke bombs, and fists at him.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
4 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The king had already stripped Andrew of his royal titles due to his connections to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.—
Kathryn Watson,
CBS News,
27 Apr. 2026
-
The whole album is constantly in motion, and not only because three different song titles reference modes of transportation.—
Brendan Hay,
SPIN,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The Homeland Security official listed TPS designations coming up for review — Syria, South Sudan, Myanmar and Ethiopia.—
Andrea Castillo,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2026
-
As Sauer noted, the prior requests were about Venezuela and Syria’s TPS designations.—
Syra Ortiz Blanes,
Miami Herald,
28 Apr. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Cognomens.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cognomens. Accessed 30 Apr. 2026.
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