Acronym – a word formed by the first letters of a group of words, name or phrase. Examples: NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) or SCUBA (Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus).

Alliterative Name – two names starting with the same letter. Example: Marilyn Monroe.

Anonymous – without name, usually used for a published work or quote with no known author.

Astronym – name of a star.

Birth Name/Maiden Name – the original surname of a woman (as opposed to her married name).

Charactonym – a name of a fictional character reflected in his or her personality traits. Example: Dr. Horrible

Cognomen – Term from Ancient Rome referring to a person by their family or last name. Example: Caesar for Gaius Julius Caesar. Popular in modern times as a nick name for athletes or friends.

Code Name/Cryptonym – A false name given to a person who is undercover or part of a covert operation. Example: The Eagle has landed.

Eponym – a word that is derived from a name. Examples: Elizabethan, McCarthyism.

Ethnonym/Demonym – a name given to an ethnic group. Example: The Greeks.

Family Name – the hereditary surname of a family.

First Name – The first or given name given to you by your parents.

Formal Name – The formal name is the full name — prefix, first, middle, last and suffix as used on official documents.

Gamer Name – a pseudonym chosen to represent a persona or character in a video game. Example: WaterMagick

Homonym – an occurence where two names are spelled differently, but sound the same. Example: Aiden and Aidan.

Hydronym – a name given to a body of water. Example: The Nile.

Hyphenated Name – when a couple choose to use both their surnames to create a new last name. Most commonly they use the names with a hyphen in between. Example: Jennifer Smith marries John Pierce. They change their names to Jennifer Smith-Pierce and John Smith-Pierce.

Initials/Monogram – the first letters of a person’s first, middle and last names.

Last Name/Surname – Your family name — for Europeans, it comes last in your formal name. For Chinese names, it is first in the formal name.

Middle Name – the part of a person’s name occurring between the first and family names, as a second given name.

Name Sake – a person who is named after someone else–usually within the same family.

Nick Name – a form of your given name, indicating closeness or affection. Example: Jimmy for James. Can also be a name for ridicule or to draw attention to a personal characteristic. Example: Red for someone with red hair.

Odonym – the name of a street or road.

Onomastics – the study of the origin, history, and use of names.

Patronym – a surname that indicated the father’s given name. Examples: Harrison (son of Harry) or O’Brien.

Pen Name – a pseudonym used by an author to conceal his/her identity.

Pet Name – a name used to express affection for a person. Example: Sweetie.

Occupational Name – a surname originally derived from the occupation of a person. Example: John Baker or George Mason.

Palindrome Name – a name that is spelled the same forwards and backwards. Example: Al Kukla.

Pseudonym – a name used by a person that is other than their legal name.

Screen Name – a pseudonym used to indicate your persona online on any given website. Example: RedFox88

Slave Name – a name given to a slave by a slaveholder. In America, the slave was historically given an Anglo-European first name and the slaveholder’s surname.

Stage Name – the pseudonym of a performer. Example: Cary Grant (born Archibald Leach).

Street Name – an urban, slang name for a person. Example: Killer D or Sammy the Bull.

Textonym – a word or name generated by a sequence of numerals keyed into a phone keypad. Example: 2229 = BABY

Toponym – a place or location name.

Zoonym – a name of an animal. Example: Giraffe.