name-fathern.
/ˈneɪmˌfɑːðə/, U.S. /ˈneɪmˌfɑðər/ 1. Chiefly Scottish. A man after whom a person is named; a godfather. Also in extended use. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > naming > [noun] > namesake one with same name > person or thing after whom or which one is named
name-father1679
name-sire1801
name-saint1868
protonym1880
name-mamma1893
1679 J. Somerville Memorie Somervilles (1815) II. 128 James, Lord Rosse..was complemented as name-father to the chylde.
1714 Aberdeen Jrnl. Notes & Queries 7 233 To John Gray's nurse that nursed his sone John to quhich I was name faither..£3.
1721 R. Wodrow Hist. Sufferings Church of Scotl. (1829) II. 62 The poor honest people who were in raillery called Whigs..became name-fathers to all who espoused the interest of liberty.
1780 T. Chalmers Let. in W. Hanna Mem. T. Chalmers (1849) I. 4 The little fellow is named Tom—I wish him as good a man as his name-father.
1898 Fortn. Rev. Aug. 264 Mr Housman writes, for the most part, under the guise of ‘A Shropshire Lad’—the rustic namefather of his book.
1904 H. James Golden Bowl I. iv. 81 Amerigo..was the name..of the pushing man who..succeeded..in becoming godfather, or name-father, to the new Continent.
1954 R. Ritchie Normans in Scotl. 31 He is of varied interest: as..the founder of Whitby and as the name-father of all the Algernons.
1965 Sc. National Dict. (at cited word) Sometimes used in regard to a married woman. ‘Her name-father was—’, i.e. her maiden name was—.
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1748 S. Richardson Clarissa IV. i. 5 I have changed his name by virtue of my own single authority. Knowest thou not, that I am a great name-father? Preferments I bestow, both military and civil.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1679