1
as in nickname
a descriptive or familiar name given instead of or in addition to the one belonging to an individual
richly deserved the cognomen of "Butterfingers"
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2
as in moniker
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
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Recent Examples of cognomen
Part of the Tuscia — cognomen of lush forested Viterbo, crossed by the ancient Roman Francigena road and land of the Etruscans before that — Gradoli is also volcanic.
—
Susan H. Gordon, Forbes, 3 Sep. 2021
The cognomen, or surname, of the Oba is Ekpen-owa, or home leopard.
—NOLA.com, 1 Feb. 2021
Moore submitted dozens of wonderful, wondrous cognomens, including Mongoose Civique, Regina-rex, Aeroterre, Dearborn Diamanté and the deathless Utopian Turtletop.
—Dan Neil, WSJ, 20 Mar. 2020
Denmark, Iceland, Hungary and Saudi Arabia also enforce specific naming conventions where common American cognomens might not make the cut.
—Caroline Picard, Good Housekeeping, 26 Sep. 2017
Susan H. Gordon, Forbes, 3 Sep. 2021
The cognomen, or surname, of the Oba is Ekpen-owa, or home leopard.
—NOLA.com, 1 Feb. 2021
Moore submitted dozens of wonderful, wondrous cognomens, including Mongoose Civique, Regina-rex, Aeroterre, Dearborn Diamanté and the deathless Utopian Turtletop.
—Dan Neil, WSJ, 20 Mar. 2020
Denmark, Iceland, Hungary and Saudi Arabia also enforce specific naming conventions where common American cognomens might not make the cut.
—Caroline Picard, Good Housekeeping, 26 Sep. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cognomen
Noun
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Yet his ruthlessness is appreciated by his team-mates, who have given him the nickname El Tiburon (‘The Shark’).—
Pol Ballús,
New York Times,
3 Apr. 2025
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The countdown is on with Alex Ovechkin just 4 goals from overtaking Wayne Gretzky as the NHL's career goal leader – a mark that once seemed unsurmountable and earned Gretzky the nickname The Great One.—
Jim Sergent,
USA Today,
2 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The Richmond Times Dispatch hosted a reader contest to find a moniker for the new mascot and several front runners were considered including Rock Hoppers, Rhinos, and Hush Puppies.—
Brennan Long,
Southern Living,
9 Apr. 2025
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Despite lacking professional wrestling training, she was quickly introduced to the WWE audience on the ECW brand under the moniker Kelly Kelly.—
Gordon G. Chang,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The test question for which Taylor was placed on leave included a quote from the text which had a racial epithet.—
Campbell Roper,
Arkansas Online,
3 Apr. 2025
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Lincoln Heights resident Eric Ruffin said at Tuesday night's village meeting that one of the demonstrators called him a racial epithet.—
Antonia Hylton,
NBC News,
12 Feb. 2025
Noun
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My name was in the news, the gossip sites, even on the billboards around town.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
10 Apr. 2025
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The Beijing International Film Festival has unveiled that an exhibition featuring 150 posters for the movie hand-painted by director Yang Yu, who goes by the name Jiaozi, will take place during its 15th edition, which runs April 18-26.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Apr. 2025
Noun
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It was confirmed by The Times of London that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle changed their surname to Sussex for the sake of their children Archie, 5, and Lilibet, 3.—
Lea Veloso,
StyleCaster,
8 Apr. 2025
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This story has been corrected to show the surname of The Atlantic journalist is Goldberg, not Rosenberg.—
Zeke Miller,
Twin Cities,
3 Apr. 2025
Noun
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That race clinched Schumacher the 2001 drivers’s championship and Ferrari the constructors’s championship, which was the first back-to-back title in the team’s history.—
Bryan Hood,
Robb Report,
3 Apr. 2025
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In 2023, at age 19, Gauff won the U.S. Open singles title.—
Tim Newcomb,
Forbes.com,
3 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Some pundits posit that the nomenclature is a New World vs. Old World situation, which doesn’t explain why bottles from California or Washington may use either name.—
Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jenssen,
Robb Report,
9 Feb. 2025
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Qualcomm’s new mobile chipset isn’t only getting a new nomenclature but also a brand-new CPU design.—
Prakhar Khanna,
Forbes,
16 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cognomen.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cognomen. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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