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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His catchy nickname — Control-Alt-Delete — earns style points.—
Tom Krasovic,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
16 Sep. 2025
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Like the scrappy bird in their nickname, the tenacious Toronto Blue Jays have clawed their way to 45 come-from-behind victories – most in the major leagues – and 87 overall, tops in the American League with under two weeks left in the 2025 campaign.—
Dan Schlossberg,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Carr has lived up to the warrior moniker.—
Kevin Collier,
NBC news,
18 Sep. 2025
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Two lounges have been renamed, one after legendary player and manager Mo Marley and the other in honour of the team’s original moniker, Leasowe Pacific, the latter the setting of a bottomless brunch hospitality option.—
Megan Feringa,
New York Times,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Then there was the woman who was Speaker of the House and would walk around talking to herself, screaming out epithets to imaginary people.—
Larry David,
New Yorker,
28 Aug. 2025
-
Terrell represented a Black teenager who’d been expelled from a Los Angeles high school for punching a white referee during a football game after the referee allegedly had directed racial epithets at him.—
Peter Elkind,
ProPublica,
27 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The nearly 25-year-old business organization declined to share the name of the affected company, but said that other members still didn’t have clarity on a consistent process for accessing the minerals.—
Evelyn Cheng,
CNBC,
17 Sep. 2025
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In the film, Bajpayee plays the police officer while Jim Sarbh essays the role of the killer who goes by the fictional name Carl Bhojraj.—
Sweta Kaushal,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The emergence of al-Sheikh, who also uses the surname Alalshikh, as the dominant figure in the sport has been a catalyst for many of these changes.—
Sarah Shephard,
New York Times,
13 Sep. 2025
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Yuliia Kaveshnikova/Getty Images The new husband's last name is the same as u//Specken_zee_Doitch's first name, and because the couple have hyphenated each other's surnames, their last names are the same as u//Specken_zee_Doitch's full name.—
Alyce Collins,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Customers may purchase or rent a selection of media titles from Prime Video without having an Amazon Prime or Prime Video account.—
Amaris Encinas,
USA Today,
13 Sep. 2025
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And Women's 100-Meter Hurdles Remain Unpredictable Coming off another world indoor title, Olympic champion, and second fastest man of all-time, Grant Holloway is in position to become the first man to win four world outdoor championship titles in a row.—
Katelyn Hutchison,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Regardless of the nomenclature, the whiskey has already earned Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, an accolade that underscores Bardstown’s ability to merge American whiskey character with French refinement.—
Andy Vasoyan,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
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Some nomenclature gets a little more flowery.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
5 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cognomen.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cognomen. Accessed 19 Sep. 2025.
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