to-name

[ too-neym ]

noun

, Chiefly Scot.

1. a nickname, especially one to distinguish a person from others of the same name.
2. a surname.

to-name

noun

1. a nickname used to distinguish one person from others of the same name

Word History and Origins

Origin of to-name¹

before 950; Middle English; Old English tōnama. See to, name

Example Sentences

To-name, tōō′-nām, n. a byname, nickname, or name in addition to Christian name and surname.

From Project Gutenberg

“Ilk ane o’ them,” according to Maitland, had a to-name, or nickname, as it is commonly called now-a-days.

From Project Gutenberg

Thus, every distinguished moss-trooper had, what is here called, a to-name, or nom de guerre, in addition to his family name.

From Project Gutenberg

Her husband's real name was of as little consequence in life as it is in my history, for almost everybody in the fishing villages of that coast was and is known by his to-name, or nickname, a device for distinction rendered absolutely necessary by the paucity of surnames occasioned by the persistent intermarriage of the fisher folk.

From Project Gutenberg

Face-of-god was well-beloved of his kindred and of all the Folk of the Dale, and he had gotten a to-name, and was called Gold-mane because of the abundance and fairness of his hair.

From Project Gutenberg