eponymous

[ uh-pon-uh-muhs ]

adjective

1. named after the specified person, place, or thing, usually its founder, creator, inventor, discoverer, or source:

   Having made her mark designing for major brands, she is launching a new, eponymous label.

   Emperor Constantine modeled his eponymous city, Constantinople, after Rome.

2. giving one’s name to a place or thing:

   The novel’s eponymous protagonist is actually Dr. Frankenstein, not his monster.

   Romulus killed Remus and became the eponymous founder of Rome.

eponymous

/ ɪˈpɒnɪməs /

adjective

1. (of a person) being the person after whom a literary work, film, etc, is named

   the eponymous heroine in the film of Jane Eyre

2. (of a literary work, film, etc) named after its central character or creator

   the Stooges' eponymous debut album

Derived Forms

• eˈponymously, adverb

Other Words From

• ep·on·y·mous·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of eponymous¹

First recorded in 1840–50; from Greek epṓnymos “given as a name”; ep-, -onym, -ous

Example Sentences

The film continued the story of Winona Ryder’s Lydia Deetz, now an adult, and returned Michael Keaton to his eponymous role of Beetlejuice.

From Los Angeles Times

He introduced his now classic soup to the world at his eponymous restaurant, LeRuth’s, which opened in 1966 in Greta, not New Orleans, Louisiana.

From Salon

Whenever “Martha” captures these moments of introspection we see its eponymous figure exposed for what she is – ambitious and demanding, forward-thinking and innovative, brusque and task-obsessed.

From Salon

He’s pretty serious about winning, considering that he’s dressed as Willy Wonka, who Chalamet plays in the 2023 eponymous film “Wonka.”

From Salon

Pennsylvania plays a key role in the NAR’s plans, and reinventing the state’s eponymous founder, William Penn, as a like-minded forebear — rather than the champion of religious diversity and secular government he actually was — is a core part of their strategy, as advanced by NAR apostle Abby Abildness.

From Salon

Related Words

• eponymic
• onymous