LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
English → Latin

“name” in Latin

Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864

name s.
Any appellation, nomen (PROP., an audible mark of distinction; hence a name of a person or thing, to distinguish from others of the same kind, a proper name, especially the name of a family or race): vocabulum (so far as it serves to denote an object or relation of it; hence, in grammar, nomen appellativum): cognomen (a family name; also = the later agnomen). Names of towns, oppidorum vocabula: a proper name, proprium vocabulum: if the thing have not its own name and term, si res suum nomen et proprium vocabulum non habet (Cic., De Or., 3, 40, in.): non idem oppidum et Roma, cum oppidum sit vocabulum (i. e., nomen appellativum), Roma nomen (i. e., nomen proprium) (Varr., L.L. 10, 2, § 20): to call anything by its name, aliquid nomine signare, notare, or vocare: to give a name to a thing, alicui rei nomen or vocabulum imponere; alicui rei nomen invenire: to give a name to anyone, alicui nomen ponere or imponere, dare or indere: to give to a thing or person a name from a thing or place, denominare aliquem or aliquid a or ab, etc.: to give to a thing the name of a deity, aliquid dei nomine nuncupare: to call a thing after anybody’s name, aliquid ab nomine alicujus appellare (followed by the name in the accusative; e.g., Liv. 1, 1, extr., aeneas ab nomine uxoris Lavinium appellat): to take, adopt, or assume the name of anyone, nomen alicujus sumere: to call anything by a mild name, aliquid molli nomine appellare: to call anybody by a name, aliquem nominare; aliquem nomine or nominatim appellare (☞ but not appellare aliquem alone): to call to or upon anybody by name, aliquem nomine vocare, or (loudly) clamare: to call a thing by its right name, rem suo nomine appellare: to call up by name, aliquem nominatim evocare; aliquos per nomina quotidie citare: to receive a name, nomen accipere (with a genitive of the name received): to derive a name from a person or thing, nomen trahere ab aliquo or ab aliqua re; cognomen or appellationem ex re trahere; ex re nomen capere or invenire (invenire, accidentally); inditur alicui nomen ab aliqua re (a person takes a name from anything): to get a name of account of anything, propter aliquid nomen reperire (accidentally): to have a name from, etc., denominatum esse or nomen habere a re; nomen tenere ab aliquo (poetical); nomen or cognomen adeptum esse ab aliqua re or ab aliquo (poetical); nomen traxisse ab aliqua re: to bear the name of anybody, alicujus nomen ferre: to have a false name, falsum nomen possidere: to have no name, nomine vacare: I bear the name of, est mihi nomen (usually followed by the name in the dativeor nominative, more rarely in the genitive); e.g., I bear the name of Caius, est mihi nomen Caio, Caius, or Caii: they gave him the name of, ei inditum nomen (with a dative of the name): ei dixere nomen (with an accusative of the name): by name, nomine (with a nominative or ablative, rarely a genitive, of the name): alicui est (erat) nomen (with a dative, etc., of the name; Vid: above); e.g., a guest, by name Camelus, quidam hospes, nomine Camelo or Cameli, or cui erat nomen Camelo (or Camelus, more rarely Cameli): a certain man, Cassius by name, quidam Cassius quoque nomine: under a strange name, sub alieno nomine (e.g., libellum edere, Suet., Oct., 55): to borrow money in the name (i. e., on the credit) of anyone, alicujus fide pecuniam mutuam sumere: in the name of (i. e., by commission from) anyone, alicujus verbis: alicujus nomine (in alicujus verbis the words are put in the mouth of him who is to convey them: in alicujus nomine the person commissioned to act for another chooses his own words). (The words are found in this connection and order.) alicujus verbis et alicujus nomine: he sent a slave to the king to tell him this in his name, servum misit ad regem, qui ei nunciaret suis verbis: to accuse anyone in his own name (on his own authority), aliquem suo nomine accusare: to entreat a person in the name of another, aliquem alicujus nomine rogare: in the name of the state, publice (opposed to privatim): in the name of God, cum Deo (with God), quod bene vertat (may it turn out well): in name (i. e., in appearance), verbo tenus; verbo (☞ not nomine): in name, not in reality, verbo, non re or revera: under the name of a thing, nomine alicujus rei (also = under the pretext of): sub titulo alicujus rei, specie alicujus rei (under the pretext; ☞ praetextu is not classical): bearing many names, multa or complura nomina habens (☞ multi nominis is not classical).
Reputation, fame, fama (general term): nomen (in respect of celebrity): existimatio (opinion which others have of us, especially good opinion): to have a great name, magnum nomen or magnam famam habere: to acquire a name, nomen consequi; famam colligere: to seek a name, famae servire: to make a name for one’s self by anything, per aliquid nomen assequi: a good name, bona fama; bona existimatio; laus: to hurt one’s good name, alicujus existimationem offendere or (more strongly) violare; de alicujus fama detrahere: to have a good name, bene audire (opposed to male audire).
Nation, people, nomen (Vid: Herzog, Sall., Cat., 52, 22, and Caes., B.G., 2, 28; Bremi, Nep., Hann., 7, 3): gens ac nomen: to be an enemy of the Roman name (i. e., of every thing which is called Roman), nomini Romano inimicum or infestum esse.
name v.
To give a name to, nominare aliquid; nomen alicui dare, indere, ponere, imponere (to impose, assign): nomen invenire alicui rei (to invent): nomine or appellatione notare aliquid (to make known or designate): to name things aright, res suis certis ac propriis vocabulis nominare (to call them by the names which they already hare): res notare propriis appellationibus (to give them suitable names): to name a thing anew, res nominibus notare novis: every mishap which we are accustomed to name a calamitas, omnis casus, in quo nomen poni solet calamitas: to name after a thing or a place, denominare a re or a loco; after anyone, ab alicujus nomine appellare: to be named after anything, a re (or ab aliquo) nomen, ex re cognomen or appellationem trahere; ex re nomen capere, reperire, invenire; a re denominatum esse or nomen habere: to be named after anyone, ab aliquo nomen tenere (poetical): to be named, nominor (with name in nominative): nomen habeo (with name in genitive): nomen mihi est (with name in nominative or dative, rarely in the genitive): vocor, appellor (I am named with name in nominative): to be named from anything, nomen a re habere, or duxisse, traxisse, or invenisse.
To call or mention by name, nominare (to call a thing by its own name; also, to give it a name): appellare (to address, to entitle; also, to mention a thing with the addition of a name): vocare, dicere (to call, vocare; PROP., to call to anyone by name then, like dicere, to name an object according to what it is: ☞ vocare usually with a substantive; dicere with an adjective): nomen alicui dare, or indere, or imponere (to give a name to): to name each thing by its own name, suo quamque rem nomine appellare: I need not name anyone, neminem necesse est nominare: without naming an authority, sublato or demto auctore: without naming, sine nomine: to name a person or thing so and so, aliquem or aliquid vocare, appellare (with an accusative of the predicate): aliquid dicere (with an accusative of the predicate): to name one thing or person after another, ex aliqua re or ex aliquo nominare aliquid or aliquem: they name me (i. e., I have the name), mihi est nomen, (with a nominative or dative, or, more rarely, a genitive of the name [Vid: NAME] Named, nomine (with an ablative, genitive, or nominative of the name) or alicui est nomen (of persons = by name, if the real name of anyone follow): qui (quae, quod) dicitur or vocatur (with a nominative of the predicate): quem vocant (with an accusative of the predicate; of persons or things, if a single predicate follow it = so called; for which ☞ ita dictus would be bad Latin).
To nominate, fix, appoint, constituere. To name a period or day, diem constituere, praestituere (to agree upon in common): diem, dicere, condicere, also simply condicere (to name a term for deciding a suit at law): to name a place (e.g., for an interview), locum dicere, locum colloquio statuere.

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for name?
The usual Latin words for “name” are nōmen, vocābulum, cognōmen; also fāma, exīstimātiō, indō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.