as in family name
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Recent Examples of hypocorism
Someone named the fog Karl, but none of our other weather gets a hypocorism.
—
Kevin Fisher-Paulson, SFChronicle.com, 29 Sep. 2020
Kevin Fisher-Paulson, SFChronicle.com, 29 Sep. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hypocorism
Noun
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But Coleman-Williams and his grandfather had talked about the family name and its significance many times over the years.—
David Ubben,
New York Times,
15 May 2026
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Charming, well-heeled, and dedicated to raising his daughters to honor the family name, Harris (Dallas) is a hard worker, a loyal husband, and stoic in the face of crisis.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
7 May 2026
Noun
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Relatives of Christa Gilley, whose maiden name is Bauer, questioned how her husband escaped the country.—
Nicole Hensley,
Houston Chronicle,
4 May 2026
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After Bingham was born, Bellamy said that Bingham was his mother's maiden name, and Bing Russell was Kurt Russell's dad.—
Jessica Booth,
PEOPLE,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Writers who used to hide their masculinist impulses behind a pen name now write and say outrageous things under their real name.—
Helen Lewis,
The Atlantic,
14 May 2026
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Concerned about the influx of solar and wind farms being built in Sardinia by outsiders, Roberto Pusceddu, under his pen name Erre Push, published a graphic novel that aimed to inspire young people to resist such impositions.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
7 May 2026
Noun
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Presumably the same sobriquet might apply to many other countries.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 May 2026
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This was the achievement that earned him the sobriquet the All-Crushing Kant, leaving no traditional dogma standing.—
Adam Kirsch,
New Yorker,
27 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Hakeem’s middle name is Sekou, an homage to the Guinean statesman Ahmed Sékou Touré; his brother, Hasan, who is three years younger, was given the middle name Kwame, in honor of Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of Ghana.—
Jason Zengerle,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
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What other comedian on the air would be able to, mid-interview, remind his guest that the poet Ovid actually went by his middle name?—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
15 May 2026
Noun
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In person, the author Freida McFadden (her nom de plume) has a sweet, shy demeanor—but don’t be fooled.—
E.L. James,
Time,
15 Apr. 2026
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Full of energy, B.C. assumed a nom de plume and, at the same time, obtained a job with another publication, also as a business writer.—
Steve Forbes,
Forbes.com,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Haida Gwaii, formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands, is a place with many nicknames.—
Evie Carrick,
Travel + Leisure,
17 May 2026
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The players, who mostly went by unique nicknames, had to be over the age of 18, not currently playing in college and have played in fewer than 162 NBA games to be eligible to compete.—
Jason Beede,
Sun Sentinel,
16 May 2026
Noun
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The more common nickname, El Mencho, is said to be a diminutive of his first name, Nemesio.—
Senior Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Feb. 2026
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Another gender-neutral name that had a burst of popularity in the ‘80s and ‘90s, Jamie was a go-to for girls or a diminutive of James for boys.—
Kara Nesvig,
Parents,
20 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hypocorism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hypocorism. Accessed 23 May. 2026.
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