euphonym

euphonym

English

Noun

euphonym (plural euphonyms)

1. A pleasant-sounding name.
   • 1969, Joseph Wood Krutch, ‎Paul S. Eriksson, A Treasury of Birdlore (page 195)

     But we thought these names were pretty and that they reflected good literary taste. The pets were called by their euphonyms only when visitors were to be properly impressed; consequently, they paid no attention to the meaningless titles.

   • 1996, Adrian Room, An Alphabetical Guide to the Language of Name Studies (page 41)

     Many female forenames are regarded as euphonyms. What is and is not euphonious is necessarily subjective, but it could be suggested that names containing labials (b, m), sibilants (s, sh) and liquids (l, r) are more likely to be euphonyms than those that do not.

   • 2018, Don L. F. Nilsen, ‎Alleen Pace Nilsen, The Language of Humor: An Introduction (page 233)

     Euphonyms are names that sound good. “Edna Saint Vincent Millay” is an example.

Related terms

• euphonious