Eponym
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{{redirect|Eponymous|the R.E.M. album|Eponymous (album)}}
An '''eponym''' is the name of a person, whether real or fictitious, which has (or is thought to have) given rise to the name of a particular [[toponym|place]], [[ethnonym|tribe]], [[regnal year|era]], discovery, or other item. An '''eponymous''' person is the person referred to by the eponym. In contemporary English, the term ''eponymous'' is often used to mean '''self-titled''', as in "[[Metallica]]'s eponymous 'black album'". The word ''eponym'' is often used for the thing titled. [[Stigler's law of eponymy]] suggests that ''Eponyms are usually false,'' i.e., things are rarely named after the person who discovered or invented them. An [[aitiology]] is a "reverse eponym" in the sense that a legendary character is invented in order to explain a term.
{{Wiktionarypar|eponym}}
==Political eponyms of time periods==
In different cultures, time periods have often been named after the person who ruled during that period.
* One of the first recorded cases of eponymy occurred in the second millennium BC, when the [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]] named each year after a high official (''limmu'').
* In [[ancient Greece]], the [[Archons of Athens|eponymous archon]] was the highest magistrate in [[Athens]]. [[Archons of Athens]] served a term of one year which took the name of that particular archon (e.g., [[594 BC]] was named for [[Solon]]).
* In [[Ancient Rome]], one of the two formal ways of indicating a year was to cite the two annual [[consul]]s who served in that year. For example, the year we know as [[59 BC]] would have been described as "the consulship of [[Bibulus|Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus]] and [[Julius Caesar|Gaius Julius Caesar]]" (although that specific year was known jocularly as "the consulship of Julius and Caesar" because of the insignificance of Caesar's counterpart). Under the empire, the consuls would change as often as every two months, but only the two consuls at the beginning of the year would lend their names to that year.
* Well into the [[Christian era]], many royal households used eponymous dating by regnal years. The Roman Catholic Church, however, eventually used the ''[[Anno Domini]]'' dating scheme based on the birth of Christ on both the general public and royalty. The [[regnal year]] standard is still used with respect to statutes and law reports published in some parts of the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries (England abandoned this practice in 1963): a statute signed into law in Canada between February 6, 1994 and February 5, 1995 would be dated 43 Elizabeth II, for instance.
*Government administrations or political trends often become eponymous with a government leader. Examples include ''the Nixon Era'', ''[[Trudeaumania]]'', ''[[Jeffersonian political philosophy|Jeffersonian economics]]'', ''[[Jacksonian democracy]]'', ''[[McCarthyism]]'', ''[[Thatcherism]]'', ''Kennedy's [[Camelot]]'', or ''[[Reaganomics]]''.
*British monarchs have become eponymous throughout the English speaking world for time periods, fashions, etc. ''[[Elizabethan era|Elizabethan]]'', ''[[Edwardian period|Edwardian]]'', ''[[Georgian period in British history|Georgian]]'', and ''[[Victorian era|Victorian]]'', are examples of these.
==Other eponyms==
* Both in ancient Greece and independently among the Hebrews, tribes often took the name of a legendary leader (as [[Achaeus, son of Xuthus|Achaeus]] for [[Achaeans]], or [[Dorus]] for [[Dorians]]). The eponym gave apparent meaning to the mysterious names of tribes, and sometimes, as in the [[Sons of Noah]], provided a primitive attempt at [[ethnology]] as well, in the genealogical relationships of eponymous originators.
* Places and towns can also be given an eponymous name through a relationship (real or imagined) to an important figure. [[Peloponnesus]], for instance, was said to derive its name from the Greek god [[Pelops]]. In historical times, new towns have often been named (and older communities renamed) after their founders, discoverers, or after notable individuals. Examples include [[Quezon City]], the former capital city of the [[Philippines]], named after the city's founder, [[Manuel L. Quezon]]; [[Vancouver, British Columbia]], named after the explorer [[George Vancouver]]; and [[Prince Albert, Saskatchewan]], originally called [[Isbister's Settlement]] but renamed after [[Queen Victoria]]'s [[Albert, Prince Consort|husband and consort]] in 1866.
* In science and technology, discoveries and innovations are often named after the discoverer (or supposed discoverer) or to honor some other influential workers. Examples are [[Avogadro's number]], the [[Diesel engine]], [[meitnerium]], [[Alzheimer's disease]], and the [[Apgar score]]. For a discussion of the process see [[Stigler's law of eponymy]].
* In (modern) art
** Some [[books]], [[film]]s, [[video game]]s, and [[TV shows]] have one or more eponymous principal characters: ''[[Robinson Crusoe]]'', the ''[[Harry Potter]]'' series, ''[[Grey's Anatomy]]'' and ''[[I Love Lucy]]'', for example.
**The term is also applied to [[music]], usually with regard to record titles. For example, [[Blur (band)|Blur]]'s [[1997]] album was also titled ''[[Blur (album)|Blur]]''. Many other artists and bands have also served as eponyms of albums or singles, usually as their debut or second release. Some bands, such as the [[Tindersticks]], [[Led Zeppelin]], [[Crowded House]], [[Van Halen]], [[Duran Duran]], [[Santana]], [[Living in a Box]], and [[Weezer]], have released more than one and are thus referred to in other ways, including number and album art (e.g. ''[[Weezer (The Blue Album)|The Blue Album]]''). [[Peter Gabriel]]'s first four long-play releases were all such (though the fourth was given a title for its US release). Another more common term is the ''self-titled album''. The band [[R.E.M. (band)|R.E.M.]] titled their 1988 compilation CD ''[[Eponymous (album)|Eponymous]]'' as a joke.
***Self-titled albums are often indicated with the abbreviation "s/t," e.g., "[[They Might Be Giants (album)|''They Might Be Giants'']] (s/t)"
==Lists of eponyms==
By '''person's name'''
* [[List of eponyms]]
By '''category'''
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* [[Adages named after people|Adages]]
* [[List of eponymous adjectives in English|Adjectives]]
* [[List of asteroids named after important people|Asteroids]]
* [[Astronomical objects named after people|Astronomical objects]]
* [[Cartoon characters named after people|Cartoon characters]]
* [[Chemical elements named after people|Chemical elements]]
* [[List of companies named after people|Companies]]
* [[List of eponymous diseases|Diseases]]
* [[List of foods named after people|Foods]]
* [[Human anatomical parts named after people|Human anatomical parts]]
* [[List of ideologies named after people|Ideologies]]
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* [[List of inventions named after people|Inventions]]
* [[List of theorems|Mathematical theorems]]
* [[List of minerals named after people|Minerals]]
* [[Observations named after people|Observations]]
* [[List of places named after people|Places and political entities]]
* [[Prizes named after people|Prizes, awards and medals]]
* [[Scientific constants named after people|Scientific constants]]
* [[Scientific equations named after people|Scientific equations]]
* [[Scientific laws named after people|Scientific laws]]
* [[Scientific phenomena named after people|Scientific phenomena]]
* [[Scientific units named after people|Scientific units]]
* [[Sports terms named after people|Sports terms]]
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==See also==
* [[Antonomasia]]
* [[Archetypal name]]
:* [[List of archetypal names]]
* [[Eponymous hairstyles]]
* [[Etymology]]
:* [[Lists of etymologies]]
* [[False etymology]]
* [[Genericized trademark]]
* [[List of eponymous diseases]]
* [[List of eponymous medical signs]]
* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Novels/List of literary works with eponymous heroes|List of literary works with eponymous heroes]] | [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Novels/List of literary works with eponymous heroines|heroines]]
* [[List of places named after people]]
* [[Metonym]]
* [[Proprietary eponym]]
* [[Stigler's law of eponymy]]
==External links==
* [http://www.fun-with-words.com/nym_words.html Definition of -nym words]
* [http://www.whonamedit.com A site dedicated to Medical Eponyms]
* [http://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/eponyms/index.html What is an Eponym? by Dr. Robert Beard]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A632990 Eponyms] on the [[h2g2]] web site
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