put a name to

Verb

put a name to (third-person singular simple present puts a name to, present participle putting a name to, simple past and past participle put a name to)

1. To attribute a person's name to (their face, voice, photo, etc.).
   • “I can’t put a name to you—but I’m sure I’ve met you—I’ve met everybody, here, or in Paris or London. Aren’t you in diplomacy? […]”1920, Edith Wharton, chapter 9, in The Age of Innocence, New York: D. Appleton, page 77
2. To name or identify (something).
   • “give your orders, you two gentlemen, and you’re welcome to whatever you put a name to.”1853, Charles Dickens, chapter 33, in Bleak House, London: Chapman & Hall, page 367
   • It was a feeling so alien to his usual state of being that he was not able to put a name to it until that night, lying in bed and looking at the ceiling and replaying the day. Power.1986, Stephen King, chapter 7, in It, New York: Viking, page 295
3. To identify the author of (a publication or other writing).
   • I had otherwise interpreted this phrase, had he put a name to his book1658, Jeremiah Ives, Confidence Encountred, London, p. 11, footnote
   • how unusual soever it is to put a Name to such small Papers1697, Thomas Burnet, Second Remarks upon An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, page 30