byname

A byname is an additional name or epithet attached to a person’s proper name, used to distinguish individuals with the same given name. Bynames are often descriptive, occupational, or locational, and may reflect appearance, character, origin, or deeds. In historical records, a byname frequently appears in the form X the Y, and in some cases it later becomes a hereditary surname.

Origin and usage: The term byname denotes a name that complements the given name rather than replaces it. Descriptive bynames might refer to a trait or feature (for example, Alexander the Great), occupational bynames to a trade (that later became a surname in some lineages), or toponymic bynames tied to a place (for instance, a person associated with a town or region). Bynames were especially common in medieval and early modern Europe, where they helped distinguish individuals with the same first name in chronicles, legal documents, and land records.

Relation to other naming forms: A byname is distinct from a modern hereditary surname, though many bynames eventually became surnames as naming practices changed. The term is closely related to sobriquets or epithets and to nicknames; in onomastics, byname is used to describe any additional appellation appended to a given name rather than a family name.

Examples: Famous bynames include Alexander the Great, William the Conqueror, Harald Bluetooth, and Ivan the Terrible. These epithets identify notable attributes or roles and are widely found in historical narratives.

Modern relevance: In scholarly and genealogical contexts, bynames are documented as part of a person’s full appellation in historical sources. They illustrate how identity was recorded and how names evolved toward hereditary surnames in various cultures.

See also: epithet, nickname, sobriquet, given name, surname, onomastics.