aptonym
US/ˈæp.toʊ.nɪm/
aptonym noun: a proper name that aptly describes the occupation or character of the person, especially by coincidence.
Noun
aptonym (plural aptonyms)
- A proper name that aptly describes the occupation or character of the person, especially by coincidence.
- The following is a selected list of aptonyms, i.e., people whose names and occupations or situation (e.g., workplace) have a close correspondence1992, Frank H. Nuessel, The study of names: a guide to the principles and topics, page 42
- New aptonyms appeared for both Matt and Donna at this juncture — "DoorMatt" and "Donnasaur."2004, Christine Scodari, Serial monogamy: soap opera, lifespan, and the gendered politics of fantasy, page 96
- Synonyms:
- aptronym, euonym, attributive name, characterizing name, character-revealing name, charactonym, characternym, label name, ticket name, type name
Synonyms of aptonym
- aptronym
- euonym
- attributive name
- characterizing name
- character-revealing name
- charactonym
- characternym
- label name
- ticket name
- type name
Forms of aptonym
| plural | aptonyms |
|---|
Origin of aptonym
From apt + -onym, on the model of other terms suffixed with -onym.
Words formed from aptonym
Questions about aptonym
- What does aptonym mean?
- Aptonym means a proper name that aptly describes the occupation or character of the person, especially by coincidence.
- What part of speech is aptonym?
- Aptonym is a noun.
- How do you pronounce aptonym?
- Aptonym is pronounced /ˈæp.toʊ.nɪm/ (US).
- What is the plural of aptonym?
- The plural of aptonym is aptonyms.
Words near aptonym in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: aptonym (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “aptonym.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/aptonym. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
