eponym

An eponym is a person, place, or thing that gives its name to something else. The term derives from Greek epi- meaning upon and onoma meaning name. Eponyms occur across domains and can name diseases, discoveries, units, brands, places, or cultural artifacts.

Categories and examples: Personal eponyms name a thing after a person. Examples include Alzheimer's disease (Alois Alzheimer), Parkinson’s disease (James Parkinson), Down syndrome (John Langdon Down), and Boycott (Charles Boycott). Toponymic eponyms name places after people or rulers, such as America, named for Amerigo Vespucci, and Georgia, named in honor of King George II. In science and technology, unit names and processes carry eponyms: newton (Isaac Newton), volt (Alessandro Volta), ohm (Georg Simon Ohm), joule (James Prescott Joule), and pasteurization (Louis Pasteur). The advancement of machinery yields eponyms such as the diesel engine (Rudolf Diesel) and the watt (James Watt). Cultural and linguistic eponyms include Don Quixote giving rise to quixotic, Ned Ludd giving “luddite,” and the Earl of Sandwich giving the sandwich its name.

In addition to names of people, eponyms may extend to brands that become generic terms, such as “hoover” in British English for vacuum cleaning, or “sandwich” serving as a general noun. Eponyms can reflect historical figures and contexts, sometimes prompting discussions about bias, colonial legacies, or the appropriateness of continuing to use certain names. Some fields seek to prefer descriptive, non-person-based terminology when appropriate.

See also: Eponym, Onomastics.