English
name
Name comes from Old English nama ‘name’, from Proto-Germanic *namô ‘name’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥ ‘name’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁nómn̥‘name’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*namô‘name’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*namō‘name’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150nama‘name’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500name
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1591–1595name
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁nómn̥‘name’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*namô‘name’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*namō‘name’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150nama‘name’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500name
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1591–1595name
Earliest quotation: c. 1591–1595, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet: “That which we call a rose By any other…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥
nomination, noun, anonymity, nominal, nominate, allocate, renown, pseudonym, misnomer, nominative, ignominious, ignominy, 31 more
Another origin of name
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500namen
- Englishtodayname
Another origin of name
- Wolofmodernñàmbi‘cassava’uncertain
- Spanishc. 1500–presentñame‘yam’
- Englishtodayname
Today it means
noun Any nounal word or phrase which indicates a particular person, place, class, or thing.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥ / name