as in first name
a name that is placed before one's family name
everyone calls me Jack, but my given name is John
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of given name
Recent options at An’s Dry Cleaning, which are given names related to fabric, included Canvas (olive oil and rosemary), Broken Heart Brocade (chocolate, brownie and raspberry jam) and Melton (mango and peach).
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Abby Hamblin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 June 2025
Not even a year into Lai’s term, China has broken precedent by staging three large-scale exercises, which were given names to raise their profile and distinguish them from smaller drills.
—Bonny Lin, Foreign Affairs, 15 May 2025
This season, the turtles in long-term care were given names based on Greek mythology.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY, 20 Mar. 2025
The student still hadn’t told their parents about these identity changes, so school officials used the student’s given name and she/her pronouns when talking with their parents.
—Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 3 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for given name
Abby Hamblin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 June 2025
Not even a year into Lai’s term, China has broken precedent by staging three large-scale exercises, which were given names to raise their profile and distinguish them from smaller drills.
—Bonny Lin, Foreign Affairs, 15 May 2025
This season, the turtles in long-term care were given names based on Greek mythology.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY, 20 Mar. 2025
The student still hadn’t told their parents about these identity changes, so school officials used the student’s given name and she/her pronouns when talking with their parents.
—Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 3 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for given name
Recent Examples of Synonyms for given name
Noun
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Breanna, who only shared her first name, took to Reddit, posting under the handle u/Gravyboat44, to share an image of what her son had been working on.—
Jack Beresford,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Sep. 2025
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That includes Perrin Matthews and his wife, who declined to share her first name, live in the next apartment block over from where the shooting occurred.—
Robert Salonga,
Mercury News,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
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His catchy nickname — Control-Alt-Delete — earns style points.—
Tom Krasovic,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
16 Sep. 2025
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Like the scrappy bird in their nickname, the tenacious Toronto Blue Jays have clawed their way to 45 come-from-behind victories – most in the major leagues – and 87 overall, tops in the American League with under two weeks left in the 2025 campaign.—
Dan Schlossberg,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Given name.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/given%20name. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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