English
forename
From fore- + name.
Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘before, formerly’
Proto-Germanic *fura- ‘before, in front of, for’
Proto-West Germanic *forē- ‘before, in front of, fore-, pre-’
English fore-
Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥ ‘name’
Proto-Germanic *namô ‘name’
Proto-West Germanic *namō ‘name’
Old English nama ‘name’
Middle English name
English name
Today it means
noun A name that precedes the surname.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / forename