Word.ws English Dictionary

first names

first names is the plural of first name.

Meaning of first name

Noun

first name (plural first names)

  1. The first element of a full name, particularly when it could also be surname in East Asian and other cultural traditions.
    • In a structure typical for East Asia cultures, first names are usually used as family names. It usually identifies that person is a one of the members of a group (typically a family or clan) who have a common family name.
  2. Synonym of given name, particularly when it forms the first element of a full name.
    • Imagine a country where children do nothing but play until they start compulsory schooling at age seven. Then, without exception, they attend comprehensives until the age of 16.[…]Children address teachers by their first names. Even 15-year-olds do no more than 30 minutes' homework a night.2013 July 19, Peter Wilby, “Finland's education ambassador spreads the word”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, archived from the original on 02 Feb 2014, page 30
    Synonyms:
    given name, particularly when it forms the first element of a full name

Questions about first names

What is first names the plural of?
First names is the plural of first name.

Words near first names in the dictionary

  1. first ministers
  2. First Month
  3. first mover
  4. first movers
  5. first name
  6. first names
  7. First Nation
  8. First Nation band
  9. First Nation bands
  10. First Nationer
  11. First Nationers

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: first names (page history and authors); first name (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: “first names.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/first_names. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.