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A personal name, full name or prosoponym (from Ancient Greek prósōpon – person, and onoma –name) [1] is the set of names by which an individual person or animal is known. When taken together as a word-group, they all relate to that one individual. [2] In many cultures, the term is synonymous with the birth name or legal name of the ...
Name. A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A personal name identifies, not necessarily uniquely, a specific individual human.
A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name [1] that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a family or clan) who have a common surname. The term given name refers to a name usually bestowed at or close to ...
Patronymic. A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), [1][2] or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic.
Other cultures use other structures for full names. In various cultures, a middle name is a portion of a personal name that is written between a person's given name and surname. [1][2] A middle name is often abbreviated and is then called middle initial or just initial. A person may be given a middle name regardless of whether it is necessary ...
A surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. [1][2] It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several given names and surnames are possible in the full name.
Onomastics. Onomastics (or onomatology in older texts) is the study of proper names, including their etymology, history, and use. An alethonym ('true name') or an orthonym ('real name') is the proper name of the object in question, the object of onomastic study. Scholars studying onomastics are called onomasticians.
Birth name. A birth name is the name given to a person upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth register may by that fact alone become the person's legal name. [1]