Eponyms are names of people, real or imagined, after whom something is named, found in various fields. Examples include Granny Smith apples, Sousaphone, Einsteinium, and Wednesday. Places, such as Seattle and the Hudson River, and objects, like the teddy bear and Stetson hat, also have eponymous names.
The eponym refers to a person, real or imagined, after whom something was named, as well as the name itself. These names are found in many different branches of knowledge, industry and business, and it is not uncommon to find eponyms used for names of companies, places, discoveries, honors and inventions. There are also homonymous products, anatomical entities, ideologies, foods and other objects that resemble someone by name. An eponym is distinguished from a toponym, which is a name derived from a place or region, such as the mandarin, a fruit named after Tangier, Morocco.
Kitchen eponyms
The Granny Smith apple, like many botanical species, takes its name from its discoverer and grower from New South Wales. Foods may be named after their inventor, as graham flour is named after its inventor Rev. Sylvester Graham, and prepared dishes may be named after the person they were made for or the chef who created them. Peach Melba, prepared by chef Auguste Escoffier for Australian opera singer Dame Nellie Melba, takes its name from the woman who inspired it, while Sachertorte, a chocolate cake created by baker Franz Sacher for Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, takes its name from chef, not the patron.
Musical eponyms
The Sousaphone is named after its inventor, composer and conductor John Philip Sousa. The Tourte bow for stringed instruments bears the name of its inventor, the French bowmaker François Xavier Tourte. The Landini cadence is named after the Italian composer and organist Francesco Landini. The Bartok and Verdi scales are named after the composers Bela Bartok and Giuseppe Verdi.
A series of chord changes – Coltrane change – is named after the innovative jazz saxophonist and composer who invented them, John Coltrane. The music notation software application, Sibelius, is named after composer Jean Sibelius. A special meaning of the eponym specific to the music industry is an album that takes its title from the name of the recording artist or artists or from one of the tracks by him.
Scientific eponyms Science
Elements have been given eponymous names, such as Einsteinium after physicist Albert Einstein; planets, such as the minor planet (3834) Zappafrank, named after rock musician and composer Frank Zappa; and animals, such as the spider named Mastophora dizzydeani after major league pitcher, Dizzy Dean. Laws, theorems and principles, such as Ampère’s law, named after the French physicist André-Marie Ampère; units and constants such as Avogadro’s number or constant, named after Amedeo Avogadro, an Italian chemist; and diseases, such as Hodgkin’s lymphoma, named after the man who described it, Thomas Hodgkin, also get their names from individuals. Others include anatomical structures, such as the Adam’s apple, named after the first man; and tests, such as the Rorschach inkblot test, developed by Swiss psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach.
Time eponyms
Some days of the week, such as Wednesday, named after the Norse god Odin, are eponymous. There are also months named after Roman gods and emperors: January for Janus, the god of beginnings, and July and August for emperors Julius and Augustus Caesar. The Julian and Gregorian calendars – the first introduced by Julius Caesar, the second named after Pope Gregory XIII who decreed its use – are further examples.
Eponymous place
Islands, states, countries, towns and cities, and bodies of water have all been named after people. Saint Kitts and Nevis is named after Saint Christopher. Pennsylvania is named after its founder’s father, Admiral Sir William Penn. Bolivia is named after the South American revolutionary Simón Bolívar. Seattle, Washington is named after Chief Seattle, chief of the Suquamish and Duwamish tribes. The Hudson River is named after the English explorer Henry Hudson.
Eponyms of airport, dam, park, road and bridge
Chicago’s O’Hare Airport is named for Edward “Butch” O’Hare, a World War II medal-winning aviator. Hoover Dam is named after President Herbert Hoover and Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park in Portland, Oregon is named after a former governor of the state. Boulevard Jacques-Cartier in Longueueil, Quebec is named after the French explorer Jacques Cartier. The Arthur Fiedler Footbridge in Boston, Massachusetts is named for conductor Arthur Fiedler, longtime leader of the Boston Pops Orchestra.
Eponyms of toys, companies, vehicles, sports and clothing
There are many other eponymous elements, including these examples:
The teddy bear is named after President Theodore Roosevelt.
The Ford Motor Company and the cars it manufactures are named after inventor Henry Ford.
The Fosbury Flop, a method for high jumping, is named after its inventor, Dick Fosbury.
The Stetson hat is named after John B. Stetson, the hatter. There’s also a Stetson Fedora, named after Sardou’s play Fedora. This game has an eponymous title, as it is named after the heroine, named Temple/Indiana Fedora after the character from the movie Indiana Jones.
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