NAME


Meaning of NAME in English

/ neɪm; NAmE / noun , verb

■ noun

1.

a word or words that a particular person, animal, place or thing is known by :

What's your name?

What is / was the name, please? (= a polite way of asking sb's name)

Please write your full name and address below.

Do you know the name of this flower?

Rubella is just another name for German measles.

Are you changing your name when you get married?

( computing )

a user / file name

—see also assumed name , brand name , code name , family name , first name , forename , household name , maiden name , middle name , nickname , pen-name , pet name , place name , surname , trade name

2.

[ usually sing. ] a reputation that sb/sth has; the opinion that people have about sb/sth :

She first made her name as a writer of children's books.

He's made quite a name for himself (= become famous) .

The college has a good name for languages.

This kind of behaviour gives students a bad name .

3.

(in compound adjectives) having a name or a reputation of the kind mentioned, especially one that is known by a lot of people :

a big-name company

brand-name goods

—see also household name

4.

a famous person :

Some of the biggest names in the art world were at the party.

IDIOMS

- by name

- by the name of ...

- enter sb's / your name (for sth) | put sb's / your name down (for sth)

- give your name to sth

- go by the name of ...

- have your / sb's name on it | with your / sb's name on it

- in all but name

- in God's / Heaven's name | in the name of God / Heaven

- in the name of sb / sth | in sb's / sth's name

- in name only

- sb's name is mud

- the name of the game

- put a name to sb/sth

- take sb's name in vain

- (have sth) to your name

- under the name (of) ...

—more at answer verb , big adjective , call verb , dog noun , drop verb , lend , middle name , name verb , rejoice , rose noun

■ verb

1.

name sb/sth (after sb) | ( NAmE also) name sb/sth (for sb) to give a name to sb/sth

SYN call :

[ vn ]

He was named after his father (= given his father's first name) .

[ vn - n ]

They named their son John.

2.

[ vn ] to say the name of sb/sth

SYN identify :

The victim has not yet been named.

The missing man has been named as James Kelly.

Can you name all the American states?

3.

[ vn ] to state sth exactly

SYN specify :

Name your price .

They're engaged, but they haven't yet named the day (= chosen the date for their wedding) .

Activities available include squash, archery and swimming, to name but a few .

Chairs, tables, cabinets— you name it , she makes it (= she makes anything you can imagine) .

4.

name sb (as) sth | name sb (to sth) to choose sb for a job or position

SYN nominate :

[ vn - n ]

I had no hesitation in naming him (as) captain.

[ vn ]

When she resigned, he was named to the committee in her place.

IDIOMS

- name and shame

- name names

••

MORE ABOUT

names and titles

Names

Your name is either your whole name or one part of your name:

My name is Maria.

His name is Tom Smith.

Your last name or family name (also called surname in BrE ) is the name that all members of your family share.

Your first name / names ( formal forename ) is / are the name(s) your parents gave you when you were born. In BrE some people use the expression Christian name(s ) to refer to a person's first name(s).

Your middle name(s) is / are any name your parents gave you other than the one that is placed first. The initial of this name is often used as part of your name, especially in America:

John T. Harvey

Your full name is all your names, usually in the order: first + middle + last name

A woman's maiden name is the family name she had before she got married. Some women keep this name after they are married and do not use their husband's name. In North America, married women often use their maiden name followed by their husband's family name:

Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Titles

Mr (for both married and unmarried men)

Mrs (for married women)

Miss (for unmarried women)

Ms (a title that some women prefer to use as it does not distinguish between married and unmarried women)

Doctor , Professor , President , Vice-President , Reverend (or Rev ), etc.

The correct way to talk to someone is:

first name, if you know them well:

Hello, Maria.

or title + surname:

Hello, Mr Brown.

or Doctor (medical), Professor , etc. on its own:

Thank you, Doctor.

This is only used for a very limited number of titles.

••

WORD ORIGIN

Old English nama , noma (noun), (ge)namian (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch naam and German Name , from a root shared by Latin nomen and Greek onoma .

Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне.