Eigenname

Eigenname is the German term for a proper name. It denotes a word that refers to a specific individual, place, organization, or other individualizable entity, rather than a class or set described by a common noun. Eigennames are typically used to identify objects uniquely within a given language community, and their reference is not determined by descriptive content alone but by social usage, introduction, and convention. In many theories of language, eigennames are treated as rigid designators, referring to the same individual in all possible contexts.

Historically, the concept appears in the work of philosophers of language such as Gottlob Frege, who distinguished proper names from definite descriptions and analyzed how sense (Sinn) and reference (Bedeutung) interact with naming. In the 20th century, Kripke and others advanced causal and referential theories of proper names, arguing that a name’s meaning derives from the historical chain of use and the initial naming event rather than from a fixed descriptive content.

Eigennames encompass several subtypes, including personal names (Albert Einstein), geographical names (Hamburg), and institutional or corporate names (Microsoft). They are capitalized in many languages and often resist straightforward paraphrase by descriptions. In linguistics and information processing, eigennames are central to named entity recognition, where systems identify and classify proper names in text.

In usage, eigennames play a key role in identity, reference, and social information—linking language to the actual world through explicit designation rather than through general properties.