Meaning & use
a namesake
Last updated
Meaning
phrasecountable
A person or thing that has the same name as another person or thing.
Grammar: Use 'a namesake' when introducing one; use 'my/your/his namesake' for a specific shared name.
Patterns
- be someone's namesake
- a namesake of someone
The new library is a namesake of the old one that burned down.
My grandfather and I are namesakes: we are both called Thomas.
The actress met a young namesake who had been named after her.
Word forms
| plural | namesakes |
|---|
Common combinations
- be someone's namesake
- The baby is her grandmother's namesake.
- a namesake of
- He is a namesake of a famous scientist.
- meet your namesake
- It was strange to meet my namesake at the conference.
Synonyms and how they differ
- homonym
- Homonym is a technical term for a word that sounds or is spelled like another; namesake is only for people or things sharing a name.
Word family
Commonly confused: a namesake or nickname?
a namesake vs nickname
A nickname is an informal name used instead of a real name; a namesake shares the same real name.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'namesake' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A namesake shares the same name, so 'we both are called Maria' fits. The other options describe shared birthday, location, or age, which do not define a namesake.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a namesake”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.