Definition of first name in US English:
first name
nounˈfərs(t) ˈˌnāmˈfərs(t) ˈˌneɪm
A personal name given to someone at birth or baptism and used before a family name.
Example sentencesExamples
- My first name is Roland.
- In 1959 he converted to Roman Catholicism and adopted the first name Léonard in recognition of his admiration for Leonardo da Vinci.
- She refers to her friend by her first name only.
- He might have seized power in a military coup and immediately cancelled elections, but hey, he's a first-name kind of guy.
- His first name was originally William, but he adopted ‘Walt’ in about 1900.
Synonyms
forename, christian name, given name, baptismal name
Phrases
Having a friendly and informal relationship.
an amateur ecologist who is on a first-name basis with most reptiles
Example sentencesExamples
- Back then it was just a few hundred ladies and we were practically on first-name terms.
- He is on first-name terms with every national newspaper editor, goes on holiday with the present editor of The Sun, and counts television executives and celebrities among his impeccable social contacts.
- Nothing has a fixed price - their customers make whatever donation they can afford - and the women seem to be on first-name terms with everybody.
- We are on first-name terms with many of the staff, who have been great and there are some really big personalities among them.
- Tracey is on first-name terms with every Republican senator.
- ‘I know all of my customers on first-name terms,’ says Jacobs.
- I find it so much more pleasant to work with people on first-name terms.
- I marvelled as he name-checked the celebrities with whom he was on first-name terms.
- Nowadays he is on first-name terms with at least half of his audience.
- One distinguished editor, who was on first-name terms with a minister, found an unusual way out of this predicament.