Editing Namesake

{{Short description|Someone or something named after a person}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Distinguish|text = [[eponym]], the original entity bearing a name}}
A '''namesake''' is a person, place, or thing bearing the name of another. Most commonly, it refers to an individual who is purposely named after another<ref name="mw" /> (e.g. [[John F. Kennedy Jr]] would be the namesake of [[John F. Kennedy]]). In common [[wikt:parlance|parlance]], it may mean vice-versa (i.e. referring to the entity for which the second entity is named); in such a case, however, the proper term would be "[[eponym]]."<ref name="oxford" /><ref name="collins" /><ref name="mw" /><ref name="rhd" />

==History==
The word is first attested around 1635,<ref name="mw">{{cite web |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/namesake |title=Namesake |work=Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary |access-date=1 April 2019}}</ref> and probably comes from the phrase "for one's name's sake",<ref name="oxford">{{cite web |title=Namesake |url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/namesake |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201031407/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/namesake |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 1, 2017 |website=Oxford Dictionaries |publisher=Oxford University Press |access-date=1 April 2019}}</ref><ref name="ahd">{{cite web |title=Namesake |url=https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=namesake |work=American Heritage Dictionary |access-date=1 April 2019}}</ref><ref name="etymon">{{cite web|last1=Harper|first1=Douglas|title=Namesake|url=http://etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=namesake|website=Online Etymology Dictionary|access-date=14 March 2016|language=en}}</ref>
which originates in English Bible translations as a rendering of a Hebrew idiom meaning "to protect one's reputation" or possibly "vouched for by one's reputation." Examples are in Psalm 23:3, "He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake" (King James Bible, 1604), or in the metrical version "e'en for His own name's sake" (Rous 1641, Scottish Psalter 1650, see [[The Lord's My Shepherd#Text|The Lord's My Shepherd]]).

==Proper usage==
When ''namesake'' refers to something or someone who is named after something or someone else, the second recipient of a name is usually said to be the ''namesake'' of the first. This usage usually refers to humans named after other humans,<ref name="mw" /><ref name="rhd">{{cite web |title=Namesake |url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/namesake |website=Dictionary.com Unabridged |publisher=Random House |access-date=1 April 2019}}</ref> but current usage also allows things to be or have namesakes.<ref name="oxford" /><ref name="collins">{{cite web |title=Namesake |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/namesake |website=Collins English Dictionary |publisher=HarperCollins |access-date=1 April 2019}}</ref>  Sometimes the first recipient can also be called the ''namesake'';<ref name="mw" /> however, the correct and unambiguous term would be the ''[[eponym]]''.

==Family==
Naming a child after a relative, friend, or well-known person is a common practice in the English-speaking world.  Continued practise of naming a child after the parent or grandparent may result in several relatives (e.g. cousins) being namesakes of each other despite not having been named after each other.

Among [[Ashkenazi Jews]], it is customary to name a child after a dead relative, such as the child's grandparent, but never after a living person.<ref name="chabad">{{cite web|title=The Laws of Jewish Names|url=http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1158837/jewish/The-Laws-of-Jewish-Names.htm|website=Chabad.org|publisher=Chabad-Lubavitch Media Center|access-date=14 March 2016}}, citing Sefer Chassidim 460; Shaarei Halachah Uminhag, vol. 3, p. 298.</ref>  [[Sephardi Jews|Sephardic Jews]] traditionally are encouraged to name their children after relatives, living or dead.<ref name="chabad" /> Greek families traditionally name a child after its paternal grandparents and the second child of the same sex is named after its maternal grandparents.

===Suffixes===
{{Unreferenced section|date=June 2020}}
When a son is named after his father, "Jr."/"II", "III'", or another [[Suffix (name)|name suffix]] may be added to the name of the son (and sometimes "Sr." or a prior number to the father's name), in order to distinguish between individuals, especially if both father and son become famous, as in the case of poet [[Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.]] and his son, [[Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.]], an associate justice of the [[United States Supreme Court]].

Sometimes the "Jr." or "Sr." suffix is applied even when the child's legal name differs from that of the parent. One example is that of the singer Hiram King Williams, known professionally as [[Hank Williams]], and his son Randall Hank Williams, known professionally as [[Hank Williams Jr]]. Daughters being named after their mothers using similar suffixes is less common. One example is thoroughbred jockey [[Rosemary Homeister Jr.]] whose mother was also a jockey before turning to train.  A more archaic method of distinguishing father from son was to follow the name with "the Elder" or "the Younger", respectively, for example [[William Pitt the Elder]] and [[William Pitt the Younger]]. For an extensive list, see [[List of people known as the Elder or the Younger]].

==Other uses==
Buildings, such as the [[Fisher Building]], and companies, like the [[Ford Motor Company]], are often named after their founders or owners.  Biological species and celestial bodies are frequently named after their discoverers.<ref>See, ''e.g.'', {{cite journal |last1=Nowicke |first1=Joan W. |author-link=Joan W. Nowicke |date=September–October 1974 |title=Three New Species of Tournefortia (Boraginaceae) from the Andes and Comments on the Manuscripts of E. P. Killip |journal=Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club |volume=101 |issue=5 |pages=229–234 |doi=10.2307/2484867 |jstor=2484867}} (species); and {{cite web |last1=Committee on Small Body Nomenclature of Division III of the International Astronomical Union |title=IAU Comet-naming Guidelines |url=http://www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu/cometnameg.html |access-date=14 March 2016 |website=IAU: Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams }} (comets).</ref> Alternatively, their discoverers may name them in honor of others.<ref>See, e.g., {{cite journal|last1=Platnick|first1=Norman I.|title=A New Genus of the Spider Family Caponiidae (Araneae, Haplogynae) from California|journal=American Museum Novitates|date=10 June 1993|issue=3063|page=1|url=http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/bitstream/handle/2246/5024//v2/dspace/ingest/pdfSource/nov/N3063.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y|access-date=14 March 2016}} (species of spider named after actor [[Harrison Ford]]).</ref>  Occasionally, material goods, such as toys or garments, may be named after people closely associated with them in the public mind.  The [[teddy bear]], for example, was named after President [[Theodore Roosevelt]], because of a popular story in which the then-President objected to cruel treatment of a bear by hunters.<ref name="loc_teddy">{{cite web|title=Teddy Bears|url=http://www.americaslibrary.gov/aa/roosevelt/aa_roosevelt_bears_1.html|website=America's Story from America's Library|publisher=Library of Congress|access-date=14 March 2016}}</ref>

The [[fedora]] hat may be considered the "namesake" of a fictional character, Princess Fédora Romanoff, from an 1887 play, ''[[Fédora]]'', by Victorien Sardou. In her portrayal of that character, [[Sarah Bernhardt]] wore a soft felt hat with a center crease, which became known popularly as a "fedora".<ref name="etymon_fedora">{{cite web|last1=Harper|first1=Douglas|title=Fedora|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=fedora|website=Online Etymology Dictionary|access-date=14 March 2016}}</ref>

Several [[United States military]] aircraft have served as the namesake of previous aircraft. The [[Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II]] attack aircraft was named after the WWII-era [[Republic P-47 Thunderbolt]] fighter-bomber.<ref>{{citation |mode=cs1 |url=https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/195855/fairchild-republic-a-10a-thunderbolt-ii/ |title=Fairchild Republic A-10A Thunderbolt II|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215223122/https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/195855/fairchild-republic-a-10a-thunderbolt-ii/ |archive-date=15 December 2018|publisher= National Museum of the US Air Force}}</ref> The [[McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II]] is the namesake of the [[McDonnell FH Phantom]].<ref>Angelucci 1987, p. 316.</ref> Uniquely, the [[LTV A-7 Corsair II]] serves as the namesake of both the [[Vought F4U Corsair]] and the earlier [[Vought O2U Corsair]], the former also being the namesake of the latter. The newest fighter of the United States, the [[Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II]] is the namesake of the [[United States Army Air Forces]] twin-engined [[Lockheed P-38 Lightning]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/130499/lightning-ii-moniker-given-to-joint-strike-fighter/ |title='Lightning II' moniker given to Joint Strike Fighter |date=7 June 2006 |work=U.S. Air Force}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Wiktionary|namesake}}
*[[Code name]], word or name used clandestinely to refer to another name or word
*[[Cognomen]], inherited name
*[[List of companies named after people]]
*[[Protected Geographical Status]], product target name sourced to protected geographical name
*[[Scientific phenomena named after people]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Personal names}}

[[Category:Names]]