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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But few nicknames reach the height of the headless chicken monster.—
Amanda Kooser,
Forbes.com,
21 May 2025
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The rocky bluffs make the waters particularly treacherous, earning the tip of Door County a wild nickname: Death’s Door.—
Jacqueline Kehoe,
AFAR Media,
21 May 2025
Noun
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Gravely lived up to that moniker Friday with a walk-off single for Santa Margarita in a 5-4 win over Los Alamitos in the CIF-SS Division 1 quarterfinals at Santa Margarita High.—
Michael Huntley,
Oc Register,
23 May 2025
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That painting, Past Times (1997), appeared in Marshall’s traveling retrospective and was won by Combs, also known by the moniker Diddy, at Sotheby’s.—
Alex Greenberger for ARTNews,
Robb Report,
23 May 2025
Noun
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The men pulled Khan and his relatives from the truck and began beating them and shouting anti-Muslim epithets.—
Andrew Marantz,
New Yorker,
28 Apr. 2025
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Police said an investigation revealed the man had been sitting in the plaza when the woman approached him and without provocation spat on him while yelling a racial epithet directed at Black people.—
Jason Green,
Mercury News,
15 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Cooper Flagg is the headline name, but fellow five-star freshman Kon Knueppel is also worth taking note of, along with center Khaman Maluach.—
Evan Massey,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 May 2025
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Congress is once again targeting high-income professionals in the name of tax reform.—
Robert Green,
Forbes.com,
29 May 2025
Noun
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Out of the four couples living in London with the surname, Steggle believes only the playwright and his wife could have afforded to live in the relatively prosperous area.—
Lianne Kolirin,
CNN Money,
24 Apr. 2025
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The new pope’s name, as well as his baptismal names, will be translated into Latin in the announcement but his former surname will remain in his native language.—
Issy Ronald,
CNN Money,
4 May 2025
Noun
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Also flying are Scott Poteet, given the title of mission pilot, specialist Sarah Gillis, and specialist and medical officer Anna Menon.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
21 May 2025
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Suddenly, somewhat improbably, the Pacers are staring at their best shot to win an NBA title.—
Zak Keefer,
New York Times,
21 May 2025
Noun
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But whatever the nomenclature, keeping BE FAST in mind could lead to more examples like Wanda Mercer, who shared her experience in a previous column.—
Paula Span,
New York Times,
17 May 2025
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Continue to prioritize high organic rankings through content optimization, metadata, file nomenclature and link building, as AI favors top-ranking sites.—
Larry Gurreri,
Forbes.com,
29 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cognomen.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cognomen. Accessed 1 Jun. 2025.
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