Namesake

/ˈneɪmseɪk/ noun

Definition

A person or thing with the same name as another person or thing, often one that came first or is more famous.

Etymology

From 'name' + 'sake' (Old English 'saca,' meaning case or cause, implying 'for the name's sake'). Emerged in English around 1600 to describe people sharing names. The compound crystallized the idea of someone named after another.

Kelly Says

Many celebrities name their children after them, creating namesakes—but here's the twist: Google executives named their search engine after the mathematical term 'googol,' making the word 'Google' the namesake of the company, not the other way around! Most namesake relationships go backward from what you'd expect.

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