List of eponyms (L–Z)

An eponym is a person (real or fictitious) whose name has become identified with a particular object or activity.

Here is a list of eponyms:

A–K – L – M – N – O – P – Q – R – S – T – U – V – W – X – Y – Z

L

• Rudolf Laban, Slovakian choreographer - labanotation.
• René Lacoste, French tennis player - Lacoste
• Ferruccio Lamborghini, Italian car builder – Lamborghini
• Vincenzo Lancia, Italian car builder– founder, Lancia
• Francesco Landini – Landini cadence, might be described in its most characteristic form as a variation on the harmonic progression in which an unstable sixth (usually major) expands to a stable octave.
• Edwin Henry Landseer, British painter and sculptor – Landseer (dog)
• Paul Langerhans, German biologist – Islets of Langerhans, Langerhans cell, Langerhans cell histiocytosis
• Samuel Pierpont Langley – langley a measurement of solar radiation.
• Lev Davidovich Landau – Landau pole, Landau damping
• Chris Langton – Langton's ant
• Bent Larsen – Larsen's Opening
• Pierre Charles Alexandre Louis – Angle of Louis
• Giovanni Paolo Lascaris – Lascaris towers, Lascaris Battery
• Lawrence of Rome – San Lawrenz
• Ernest Lawrence, American physicist – lawrencium
• Bruce Lee, American-Chinese actor – Bruceploitation
• Peter Lee – Peterlee, a town in County Durham
• Alfredo di Lelio – Alfredo sauce
• Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, Russian head of state – Leninism, Lenin's Testament, for various places see Lenino and List of places named after Lenin
• John Lennard-Jones – Lennard-Jones potential
• Jules Léotard, French acrobat – leotard
• Leudonus – Lothian
• Lars Levi Læstadius – Laestadianism
• Alice Liddell, British child – Alice in Wonderland, Alice in Wonderland syndrome
• Liechtenstein dynasty – Liechtenstein
• Abraham Lincoln, American president – Lincoln Records; ships USS Abraham Lincoln (SSBN-602), USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72); Lincoln is a slang term for the United States five dollar bill
• Charles Lindbergh, American pilot – Lindbergh Law anti-kidnapping law
• Joseph Lister, British physician – Listerine mouthwash
• Lisa, sister of Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons – Lisa Simpson, character in The Simpsons animated TV series
• Little Goody Two-Shoes – A character from the 18th century novel The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes, which inspired the English derogatory term "goody two-shoes".
• David Livingstone, Scottish explorer – Livingstone daisy, Livingstone, Zambia
• Ignacio de la Llave – Veracruz-Llave
• Veronica Lodge, fictional character in Archie Comics – the Veronica search engine
• Fritz London – London force
• Huey Pierce Long, American politician – Huey, one of "Huey, Dewey and Louie", animated cartoon characters
• Ruy López de Segura, Spanish monk – Ruy Lopez opening in chess
• John De Lorean – De Lorean
• Hendrik Lorentz, Dutch physicist – Lorentz force, Lorentz transformation
• Lothar – Lorraine, French province
• Allan Haines Loughead – Lockheed Corporation later to become Lockheed Martin in 1995
• Louis XIV of France, French king – Louisiana
• Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, fourth daughter of Queen Victoria – Alberta
• H. P. Lovecraft, American novelist – Lovecraftian horror
• Hubert von Luschka – foramina of Luschka (outlets for cerebrospinal fluid in the brain); Luschka's crypts; Luschka's joints
• Saint Lucy of Syracuse – Saint Lucia
• Martin Luther, German religious leader – Lutheranism
• Alois Lutz, Austrian figure skater – Lutz jump
• Charles Lynch – lynching, lynch law
• Trofim Lysenko – Lysenkoism

M

• Ernst Mach, Czech-Austrian physicist – Mach number
• Karel Hynek Mácha, Czech novelist and poet – Lake Mácha (Czech: Máchovo jezero), in the Czech Republic
• Niccolò Machiavelli, Italian politician and writer – Machiavellian (attempting to achieve what one wants by cunning, scheming and unscrupulous methods).
• Charles Macintosh, Scottish inventor – mackintosh
• Alexander Mackenzie, American explorer – Mackenzie River, Mackenzie Bay
• Colin Maclaurin – Maclaurin series, Maclaurin's inequality, Sectrix of Maclaurin, Trisectrix of Maclaurin,
• Rowland Hussey Macy – founder, Macy's
• Gaius Maecenas, a Roman patron of literature and the arts – maecenas (arts patron)
• Ferdinand Magellan, Portuguese explorer – Strait of Magellan, Large Magellanic Cloud, Small Magellanic Cloud
• François Magendie – foramen of Magendie (outlet for cerebrospinal fluid in the brain)
• Maggie, sister of Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons – Maggie Simpson, character in The Simpsons animated TV series
• Pierre Magnol, French botanist – magnolia
• Jules Germain François Maisonneuve – Maisonneuve fracture
• Mrs. Malaprop, a character in The Rivals, a play by Richard Brinsley Sheridan – malapropism
• Thomas Malthus, British economist – Malthusian, Malthusianism, Malthusian Growth Model, Malthusian catastrophe
• Giorgio and Gregorio Mamo – Mamo Tower
• Benoît Mandelbrot, Polish mathematician – Mandelbrot set
• Antoine Marfan, French physician – Marfan syndrome
• Marge, mother of Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons – Marge Simpson, character in The Simpsons animated TV series
• Henrietta Maria of France, wife of Charles I – Maryland
• Queen Mariana of Austria or Marie-Anne of Austria – Mariana Islands, Mariana Trench
• Pierre Marie, French neurologist – Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease
• Saint Marinus – San Marino
• Mark the Evangelist – Saint Mark's Tower
• Benjamin Markarian – Markarian galaxies
• Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer, British businessmen – Marks and Spencer
• Henry Martin – Martinizing Dry Cleaning
• Géza Maróczy – Maróczy Bind
• Marplot, the main character in Susanna Centlivre's plays The Busy Body and Marplot in Lisbon – marplot (an officious meddler or busybody who disrupts the plans of others)
• Frank Marshall – Marshall Defense
• John Marshall – Marshall Islands
• Maurice Martenot, French inventor – Ondes Martenot
• Lionel Martin – Aston Martin
• Glenn Luther Martin founded The Glenn L. Martin Company which several decades and mergers later became Lockheed Martin
• Jean Martinet – martinet; a disciplinarian
• Maurice Martenot – Ondes Martenot, an electronic musical instrument with a keyboard and slide invented in 1928.
• Karl Marx, German philosopher and economist - marxism
• Mary, mother of Jesus – numerous communities and geographic features (either named St. Mary or having the word Lady in them), a large number of cathedrals, churches, and religious orders, the ladybird
• Mary the Jewess, ancient alchemist invented the Bain-marie to warm substances such as Elixir to germinate precious metals
• Maserati brothers – founders, Maserati
• Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon – Mason–Dixon Line
• John L. Mason – Mason jar
• Alonzo C. Mather – Mather Stock Car Company
• Harold "Matt" Matson and Elliot Handler – Mattel
• Jujiro Matsuda – founder, Mazda (also possibly inspired by Zoroastrian god Ahura Mazda)
• Queen Maud of Norway – Queen Maud Gulf (Canada), Queen Maud Land in Antarctica
• Maurice of Nassau, Dutch politician – Mauritius
• Maussollus – mausoleum, a monumental tomb....
• Hiram Maxim, American gun inventor – Maxim gun
• James Clerk Maxwell, British physicist – maxwell, unit of magnetic flux
• Louis B. Mayer – founder of Louis B. Mayer Pictures which later merged into Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer (or MGM)
• John Loudon McAdam – macadam process of road construction, tarmac (tar+macadam) road surface
• Charles McBurney, American surgeon – McBurney's point (aka McBurney's sign), a sign of acute appendicitis.
• Dick McDonald and Mac McDonald – founders, McDonald's Corporation
• James Smith McDonnell founder McDonnell Aircraft Corporation, later to become McDonnell Douglas
• Giuseppe Meazza – Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, a football stadium in Italy
• Georg Meissner – Meissner's corpuscles
• Walther Meissner (and Robert Ochsenfeld) – Meissner effect (or Meissner–Ochsenfeld effect)
• Lise Meitner, Austrian-Swedish physicist – meitnerium, chemical element
• Nellie Melba, Australian opera singer – Melba toast; Peach Melba; Melba, a suburb of Canberra, Australia
• Viscount Melbourne – Melbourne
• Gregor Mendel, Czech botanist – Mendelian inheritance, Mendel Polar Station, lunar crater Mendel
• Dmitri Mendeleev, Russian chemist – mendelevium, periodic table of Mendeleev
• Prosper Ménière, French physician – Ménière's disease
• Mentor, Greek mythological character – mentor: a trusted friend, counselor or teacher, usually a more experienced person, mentoring programs
• Giuseppe Mercalli – Mercalli intensity scale of an earthquake
• Meirion, son of Cunedda – Merionethshire
• Franz Mesmer, German hypnotist – Mesmerism, "to mesmerize"
• Robert Metcalfe – Metcalfe's law
• Methuselah, Biblical character – A Methuselah (nickname for a very old person), Methuselah (6 litre wine bottle see Wine bottle#Sizes)
• Saint Michael, Biblical character – Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, Arkhangelsk, and numerous other places with St Michael or Archangel in them
• Michelangelo, Italian painter and sculptor – Michelangelo, one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic characters
• Jacques Mieses – Mieses Opening
• Caspar Milquetoast – Milquetoast, "a weak, ineffectual or bland person."
• Hermann Minkowski – Minkowski addition, Minkowski inequality, Minkowski space, Minkowski diagram, Minkowski's theorem
• Ernesto Miranda – Miranda Warning
• Miriam, sister of Moses – bain-Marie ^[1][2]
• Andrija Mohorovičić – Mohorovičić discontinuity
• Pépé le Moko fictional character from the novel and movies of the same name – Pepé Le Pew Warner Bros. French skunk character
• Vyacheslav Molotov, Russian politician – Molotov cocktail
• James Monroe, American president – Monroe Doctrine, Monrovia
• Romeo Montague, British theatrical character – romeo (affectionate nickname for a male lover)
• Moses Montefiore, British banker - Montefiore Medical Center
• Monty Python, British comedy collective – Pythonesque, spam (derived from one of their sketches: Spam)
• Robert Moog, American inventor – Moog synthesizer, an analog synthesizer
• Gordon Moore, American businessman – Moore's law
• Jean Moreau de Sechelles – Seychelles
• José María Morelos – Morelos
• Prince Morgan the Old of Gwent – Glamorgan
• Ernst Moro – Moro reflex
• Giorgio Moroder, Italian music producer - Moroder sound
• Samuel Morse, British inventor – Morse code
• John Morton (1420–1500), Chancellor of England – Morton's Fork, a choice between two equally unpleasant alternatives
• Jerry Moss and Herb Alpert, American musicians – A&M Records
• Rudolf Mössbauer, German physicist – Mössbauer effect
• Lord Louis Mountbatten – Mountbatten pink, naval camouflage pigment
• Mickey Mouse, American cartoon character – Mickey Mousing, Mickey Mouse degrees
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, German-Austrian composer – Mozartkugel, Mozart effect, Mozart Medal, the word 'Mozart' became synonymous for '(musical) child prodigy' and 'virtuoso'
• Erasto B. Mpemba – Mpemba effect
• Antonín Mrkos – four comets carry his name: 18D/Perrine-Mrkos, 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova, 124P/Mrkos and 143P/Kowal-Mrkos
• Walther Müller – Geiger–Müller tube
• David, John A. or Thomas Mulligan – Mulligan
• Baron Munchausen, German baron – Munchausen syndrome, Munchausen syndrome by proxy
• Ian Murdock and Debra Murdock – Debian project for free software, made after combining Ian's and his wife's name Debra.
• William Lawrence Murphy – Murphy bed.

N

• Ashot Nadanian – Grünfeld Defence, Nadanian Variation
• Oskar Naegeli – Naegeli–Franceschetti–Jadassohn syndrome
• Miguel Najdorf – Sicilian Defence, Najdorf Variation
• Fridtjof Nansen, Norwegian explorer – Nansen passport
• John Napier – neper, unit of relative power level, Napier's bones, method for performing multiplication
• Napoleon I, French general and emperor – Napoleonic code and Napoleonic Wars
• Napoleon I of France, French emperor – Napoleon Opening
• Narcissus, Greek mythological character – narcissism
• John Forbes Nash, British mathematician – Nash equilibrium, Nash embedding theorem
• Thomas Nash, American Revolutionary War hero – Nashville, Tennessee
• Joachim Neander, German poet – Neanderthal (valley) was named after him, and thus the Neandertal fossil found there
• Nebuchadnezzar, Babylonian king – nebuchadnezzar, 15 litre wine bottle
• Jawaharlal Nehru, Indian politician – Nehru jacket, Nehru Planetarium
• Baby Face Nelson, American criminal – Baby Face Finlayson, formerly from The Beano comic
• Horatio Nelson, British admiral – Nelson (New Zealand)
• Henri Nestlé, German-Swiss businessman – Nestlé
• Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople – nestorianism
• John von Neumann, Hongarian-American mathematician and computer programmer – Von Neumann machine, Von Neumann probe, Von Neumann architecture, John von Neumann Theory Prize, IEEE John von Neumann Medal
• Rolf Nevanlinna – Nevanlinna theory,
• Isaac Newton, British mathematician and physicist – newton – unit of force, Newton's law of cooling, Newton's law of gravitation, Newton's laws of motion, Newton's rings, Newtonian reflecting telescope
• Jean Nicot, French explorer – nicotine
• Arthur Nielsen, American market analyst – Nielsen ratings, Nielsen Media Research.
• Mike Nifong – Nifonged
• Aron Nimzowitsch – Nimzo–Indian Defence
• Richard Nixon, American president – Nixonomics, Nixon mask
• Alfred Nobel, Swedish inventor and activist – Nobel Prizes, nobelium
• Emmy Noether, German mathematician – Noether's theorem, Noetherian rings
• Ian Norman and Gerry Harvey – Harvey Norman
• Edward Lawry Norton – Norton's theorem
• Pedro Nunes, Portuguese mathematician and inventor - nonius

O

• Robert Ochsenfeld and Walter Meissner – Meissner–Ochsenfeld effect (Meissner effect)
• William of Ockham, British philosopher – Occam's Razor
• Oengus I of the Picts, Pictian king – Angus
• Georg Ohm, German physicist – ohm – unit of electrical resistance, Ohm's Law
• Onan, Biblical character – onanism
• Ongull, a Scandinavian landowner – Anglesey
• Jan Oort, Dutch astronomer – Oort cloud
• Adam Opel, German businessman – Opel
• Charles Boyle, 4th Earl of Orrery – orrery, a mechanical model of the solar system
• Hans Christian Ørsted, Danish physicist and chemist – oersted, unit of magnetic field strength
• George Orwell, British novelist – Orwellian
• Robert Bayley Osgood and Carl B. Schlatter – Osgood–Schlatter disease
• John Owen – Owen's Defence

P

• Giuseppe Pace – Paceville
• David Packard and William Hewlett, American business people – Hewlett–Packard
• Larry Page – PageRank algorithm
• František Palacký – Palacký University, Olomouc
• Pan, Greek mythological character – panflute, the word panic, Peter Pan
• Peter Pan, British theatrical character – Peter Pan syndrome
• Paparazzo, a press photographer in Federico Fellini's film La Dolce Vita – paparazzi
• Vilfredo Pareto, Italian economist – Pareto principle, Pareto efficiency, Pareto distribution, Pareto index
• Bernard Parham, American chess player – Parham Attack
• James Parkinson, British physician – Parkinson's disease
• Rosa Parks, American activist – Rosa Parks Highway
• Alan Parsons, British rock musician – The Alan Parsons Project
• Blaise Pascal, French mathematician – pascal – unit of pressure; Pascal's triangle, Pascal's Wager or Pascal's Gambit, Pascal programming language, Pascal's theorem
• Louis Pasteur, French chemist – Pasteurization
• Saint Paul – Saint Paul (Minnesota), São Paulo, St Paul's Island, St. Paul's Bay, St. Paul's Bay Tower, and numerous other localities, churches and cathedrals
• Vincent de Paul, French humanitarian activist and priest - Society of Saint Vincent de Paul
• Antoine de Paule – Paola, Malta
• Wolfgang Pauli, Austrian-Swiss physicist – Pauli exclusion principle
• Axel Paulsen – Axel, Figure skating jump
• Mr. Pecksniff, British literary character – Pecksniffian ^[3]
• Ivan Petrovich Pavlov, Russian biologist – Pavlovian conditioning
• Anna Pavlova, Russian ballet dancer – Pavlova
• Giuseppe Peano, Italian mathematician – Peano axioms
• Jean Charles Athanase Peltier – Peltier effect
• William Penn, British-American politician and explorer – Pennsylvania
• James Cash Penney, American business man – J.C. Penney
• Roger Penrose, British mathematician – Penrose diagram, Penrose tiling,^[4] Penrose triangle, Penrose stairs, Penrose chickens
• Ramon Perellos y Roccaful – Perellos Redoubt, Perellos Tower
• Dom Pérignon (1638–1715), a blind French Benedictine monk – Dom Pérignon (wine)
• Antoinette Perry, American actress and theatre director – Tony Award ^[5]
• St. Peter – Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Petersburg, Peterborough, and numerous other localities, churches and cathedrals
• Alexander Petrov – Petrov's Defence
• Armand Peugeot, French car builder and business man – Peugeot
• François-André Danican Philidor – Philidor Defence
• Philip II of Spain, Spanish king – Philippines
• Gerard Philips – founder, Philips
• Samuel Pickwick , British literary character – Pickwickian ^[3]
• Lester Piggott, British horse race jockey – Lester Award
• Joseph Pilates – the Pilates Method
• James Pimm – Pimm's
• Pinocchio, Italian literary character – Pinocchio Syndrome
• Harold Pinter, British playwright - Pinteresque
• Vasja Pirc – Pirc Defence
• William Pitt, British novelist – Pittsburgh
• Max Planck, German physicist – Planck's constant, Planck's law of black body radiation
• Joseph Plateau – Plateau's laws, Plateau's problem
• Plato, Greek philosopher – Platonic solids
• Henry Stanley Plummer – Plummer's disease
• Friedrich Carl Alwin Pockels – Pockels effect
• Joel Roberts Poinsett (1779–1851) – poinsettia
• Jean Léonard Marie Poiseuille – poise – unit of viscosity, Poiseuille's Law
• Joseph Polchinski – Polchinski's paradox concerning free will and traversable wormholes
• Charles Ponzi, Italian criminal – Ponzi scheme
• Domenico Lorenzo Ponziani – Ponziani Opening
• Eugène Poubelle, French lawyer, administrator and diplomat – poubelle, French word for "dustbin"
• Pierre Poujade, French politician – Poujadism
• Ferdinand Porsche, Italian car designer – Porsche
• Grigori Aleksandrovich Potemkin, Russian general – Potemkin village
• Percivall Pott – Pott's disease, Pott's fracture
• Elvis Presley, American rock 'n' roll singer – Elvis impersonator
• Priapus, Greek mythological character – priapism
• Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, British prince – Prince Edward Island
• Procrustes, Greek mythological character – Procrustean bed
• William Procter and James Gamble – Procter & Gamble
• Karl Prusik, Austrian mountaineer - Prusik technique of going up or down a rope using knots
• Nikolay Przhevalsky, Russisch biologist – Przewalski's horse
• James Puckle inventor of The Defense Gun, better known as the Puckle gun
• Joseph Pulitzer, Hungarian businessman – Pulitzer Prize
• Jan Evangelista Purkyně – Purkinje cell
• Pyrrhus of Epirus, Greek general – Pyrrhic victory
• Pythagoras, Greek mathematician – Pythagorean theorem

Q

• Vidkun Quisling, Norwegian war criminal – the term "quisling" became a synonym in many European languages for traitor

R

• Thomas Stamford Raffles, British governor – Rafflesia
• C. V. Raman – Raman spectroscopy, Raman effect
• Srinivasa Ramanujan – Ramanujan prime, Ramanujan theta function, Ramanujan's sum, Ramanujan's master theorem, Landau–Ramanujan constant, Ramanujan–Soldner constant, Ramanujan–Petersson conjecture, Rogers–Ramanujan identities, Hardy–Ramanujan number
• William John Macquorn Rankine – degree Rankine, Rankine cycle
• Raphael, Italian painter – Raphaelism, Pre-Raphaelism, Raphael, one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic characters
• John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh, British physicist and mathematician – Rayleigh scattering
• Maurice Raynaud, French physician – Raynaud's disease
• Ronald Reagan, U.S. president – Reagan Era, Reaganomics, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), Ronald Reagan Trail
• René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur – degree Réaumur, unit of temperature
• Martin de Redin – De Redin towers
• Dorothy Reed – Reed–Sternberg cell
• Rehoboam – 4.5 litre wine bottle (see Wine bottle#Sizes)
• Louis Renault, French industrialist – founder, Renault
• Richard Réti, Slovakian chess player – Réti Opening
• Arnold Reuben (possibly) – Reuben
• Paul Reuter – Reuters news agency
• Douglas Reye, Australian physician – Reye's syndrome
• Cecil Rhodes, British explorer and industrialist – Northern Rhodesia (Now Zambia), Southern Rhodesia (Now Zimbabwe), Rhodes Scholarship
• Vasco Ronchi – Ronchi test
• Giovanni Francesco Ricasoli – Fort Ricasoli
• Isaac Rice – Rice Gambit
• Charles Richter – Richter magnitude scale
• Sydney Ringer – Ringer's solution and Lactated Ringer's solution given via the IV route to patients
• Heinrich Adolf Rinne, German physician - Rinne test
• César Ritz – Ritz Hotel, Hôtel Ritz
• Ron Rivest – the first letter of the name RSA, an asymmetric algorithm for public key cryptography, is taken from Rivest
• John D. Rockefeller, American businessman – Oysters Rockefeller
• John D. Rockefeller, Jr., American businessman – Rockefeller Center
• Romulus, Roman mythological character – Rome
• Count Karl Robert von Nesselrode – Nesselrode
• Alvah Roebuck and Richard Sears, American businesspeople – Sears, Roebuck, now Sears
• Emmanuel de Rohan-Polduc – Città Rohan, Fort Rohan
• Charles Rolls and Henry Royce, British businesspeople – Rolls–Royce
• Moritz Heinrich Romberg – Romberg's test, Parry-Romberg syndrome, Howship-Romberg sign
• Nicola Romeo – Alfa Romeo
• Wilhelm Röntgen, German inventor – röntgen, unit of dosage of X-rays or gamma radiation
• Andrés Quintana Roo – Quintana Roo
• Alice Roosevelt, American presidential daughter – Alice blue, said to be the color of her eyes
• Theodore Roosevelt, American president – Teddy bear
• Gioacchino Rossini, Italian composer – Tournedos Rossini
• Eugène Rousseau – Rousseau Gambit
• Rota, a Saxon landowner ("Rota's land") – Rutland
• Karl Rove – Rovian (dirty) campaign tactics
• Henry Isaac Rowntree – founder, Rowntree's
• Henry Royce and Charles Rolls – Rolls–Royce
• Ernő Rubik, Hungarian inventor – Rubik's Cube, Rubik's Clock, Rubik's Magic, Rubik's Revenge
• Carle David Tolmé Runge – Runge's phenomenon
• Reverend John Russell – Jack Russell Terrier
• Henry Norris Russell, American astronomer, and Ejnar Hertzsprung, Danish astronomer – Hertzsprung–Russell diagram
• Lord Rutherford, New Zealand physicist – rutherfordium, chemical element
• Johannes Rydberg, Swedish physicist – Rydberg constant, Rydberg formula, Rydberg unit, Rydberg atoms

S

• Marquis de Sade, French novelist – sadism.
• Sheikh Safi-ad-din Ardabili – Safavid Dynasty, Safavids
• Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, German novelist – masochism
• Franz Sacher, Austrian cook – Sachertorte
• Ulrich Salchow – Salchow, Figure skating jump
• Samson, Biblical character – A Samson (someone who is physically strong)
• Salmanazar V Biblical king – 9 litre wine bottle (see Wine bottle#Sizes)
• Vasili Samarsky-Bykhovets, a Russian mine official – samarskite, the mineral after which the chemical element samarium has been named.
• John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, British earl – sandwiches and South Sandwich Islands
• Sappho , Greek poetess – sapphism or lesbianism
• Muhammad bin Saud, Saudi royal – Saudi Arabia
• Pierre Auguste Sarrus – Sarrusophone, a double-reed woodwind instrument made of brass or silver.
• Adolphe Sax, Belgian inventor – the saxophone, a musical instrument he invented
• Bernhard Schmidt – Schmidt camera telescope
• Louie Schmitt, animator – Louie, one of "Huey, Dewey and Louie", animated cartoon characters
• Walter H. Schottky, German physicist – Schottky diode
• Stocco – Rapier, Sword, Cod, Cornstalk – Idea – Holographic Resonators Idea
• Erwin Schrödinger – Schrödinger equation, Schrödinger's cat, Schrödinger's Kittens – a book
• Ed Scott – the second letter of the company name BEA Systems, is taken from Ed, a co-founder
• Robert Scott, British explorer – Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station
• Ebenezer Scrooge, British literary character – scrooge (a stingy miser) ^[3]
• Glenn T. Seaborg – seaborgium, chemical element
• Richard Sears and Alvah Roebuck – Sears, Roebuck; stores bear only the Sears name
• Chief Seattle – City of Seattle
• Thomas Johann Seebeck – Seebeck effect
• Mario Segali – The Nintendo character Mario
• Josef Sekanina – mineral Sekaninaite
• Harry Gordon Selfridge – founder, Selfridges
• Edgar Selwyn and Archibald Selwyn, who used the last three letters of their name along with the first four of Samuel Goldfish to create Goldwyn Picture Corporation, which later merged into Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer (or MGM)
• Claude de la Sengle – Senglea
• Serendip – serendipity
• Otep Shamaya – Otep, a Los Angelean heavy metal band
• Adi Shamir – the second letter of the name RSA, an asymmetric algorithm for public key cryptography, is taken from Shamir
• Sherlock – short for Sherlock Holmes, anyone who solves a mystery or a difficult problem, based on the fictional character by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• Roger Shepard – Shepard tone
• Henry S. Shrapnel (1761–1842) – shrapnel
• Henry Miller Shreve (1785–1851) Steamboat captain for whom the city of Shreveport, Louisiana is named.
• Jean Sibelius, Finnish composer – Sibelius notation program, Sibelius Software Ltd
• Ambrose Burnside, American general – Sideburns
• Werner von Siemens, German business man and – siemens – unit of electrical conductance; Siemens AG – company
• Rolf Sievert – sievert, unit of radiation dose equivalent
• Etienne de Silhouette (1709–1767) – Silhouette
• Issac Merritt Singer, American inventor – Singer Corporation
• Sixtus IV, Italian pope – Sistine chapel
• Alexander Skene, Scottish gynaecologist – Skene's gland
• BF Skinner, American psychologist – Skinner box
• Emil Škoda, Czech car designer – founder, Škoda
• Delia Smith, British cook - Delia effect, Delia dish ^[6]
• Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson, American gun inventors – Smith & Wesson
• Maria Ann Smith, British-Australian businesswoman – Granny Smith
• Edward Smith-Stanley, 12th Earl of Derby, British nobleman – Derby (horse race), particularly the Epsom Derby
• Oliver R. Smoot, American student – smoot
• Hermann Snellen, Dutch ophtmalmologist – Snellen chart
• Willebrord Snellius, Dutch astronomer and mathematicianc – Snell's law
• Snot, a Saxon landowner ("Snot's home" + shire) – Nottinghamshire
• Socrates, Greek philosopher – Socratic Method
• Alexey Sokolsky, Ukranian-Belarussian chess player – Sokolsky Opening
• Daniel Solander, Swedish botanist – Solander box
• Solomon, Biblical character – Solomon Islands, Judgment of Solomon which has become a proverb and metaphor in many languages.
• John Philip Sousa, American composer – Sousaphone
• Edwin Southern, British biologist – Southern blot
• Thomas Spencer, British business people – Marks and Spencer
• William Archibald Spooner, British teacher – spoonerism
• Joseph Stalin, Russian head of state – Stalinism and neo-Stalinism (also see De-Stalinization), see List of places named after Joseph Stalin, Joseph Stalin Museum, Stalinist architecture, Stalin Society, Stalin Prize, Stalin Peace Prize, Iosif Stalin tank
• Johannes Stark, German physicist – Stark spectroscopy, Stark effect
• Howard Staunton, British chess player – Staunton Gambit
• Jozef Stefan and Ludwig Boltzmann, Austrian physicists – Stefan–Boltzmann constant
• Carl von Sternberg (disputed) – Reed–Sternberg cell
• George M. Sternberg (disputed) – Reed–Sternberg cell
• John K. Stewart and Arthur P. Warner – Stewart–Warner
• George Gabriel Stokes – stokes, unit of viscosity
• Marshall Harvey Stone – Stone–von Neumann theorem, Stone–Čech compactification, Stone's representation theorem for Boolean algebras, Stone space, Stone–Weierstrass theorem, Stone's representation theorem for distributive lattices, Stone duality, Stone's theorem on one-parameter unitary groups, Banach–Stone theorem
• Antonio Stradivari, Italian violin builder – Stradivari
• Levi Strauss, American business man – Levi Strauss & Co.
• Barbra Streisand, American actress and singer – Streisand effect (censorship that has the unintended consequence of publicizing the information more widely.)
• Count Stroganov (possibly Count Pavel Alexandrovitch Stroganov or Count Grigory Stroganov) – Stroganoff
• John McDouall Stuart – Stuart Highway, Central Mount Stuart
• Rashid Sunyaev and Yakov B. Zel'dovich – Sunyaev–Zel'dovich effect
• Superman, American comic book character – the word "superman" is used for people able to achieve seemingly impossible things
• Michio Suzuki, Japanese business man – founder, Suzuki
• Sage Kambu Swayambhuva – Cambodia
• Shirley Temple, American film actress – Shirley Temple Soda
• Theodor Svedberg, SwSwedish chemist – svedberg (unit of sedimentation rate)

T

• Tan Aik Kah – TAN (Tegumental Angiomyxoma–Neurothekeoma) syndrome
• James Mourilyan Tanner – Tanner stage
• Tarik-ibn-Ziyad (from Arabic djebl al-Tarik or "mountain of Tarik") – Gibraltar
• Siegbert Tarrasch – Tarrasch Defense
• Tarzan, British literary character - Tarzanesque, Tarzan yell, Tarzan pants (loin cloth in leopard motif)
• Abel Tasman, Dutch explorer – Tasmania, Tasman Sea, Tasman Region, Abel Tasman National Park, Tasman Bay
• J. R. D. Tata – founder, Tata
• Jacques Tati, French film director and comedian – Tati-esque
• Stéphanie Tatin and Caroline Tatin, French restaurant owners – Tarte Tatin
• Frederick Winslow Taylor, American engineer - Taylorism
• Temujin (Genghis Khan) – Chinggis Khaan International Airport
• Maria Teresa, the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg – Maria Teresa cocktail
• Nikola Tesla, Serbian inventor – Tesla coil, tesla – unit of magnetic flux density
• Luisa Tetrazzini, Italian operatic soprano – Chicken Tetrazzini ^[7]
• Leon Theremin, Russian inventor – Theremin, Theremin cello
• Thespis, Greek actor - thespian, thespis (plant), thespis (mantis), thespis wagon
• Lou Thesz – "Lou Thesz punches", a professional wrestling maneuver involving using primarily your legs to tackle an opponent to the ground, then delivering a series of punches while straddling your opponent.
• Thor, Norwegian mythological character - thorium
• August Thyssen – founder of Thyssen, ThyssenKrupp
• Tintin, Belgian comic book character - Tintinologism
• Titan, Greek mythological character - titanum
• Christopher Titus – Titus, an Emmy nominated TV series broadcast on FOX from 2000–2002.
• Saint Thomas, Biblical character – a "disbelieving/doubting Thomas" (someone who lacks faith),^[8] São Tomé and Príncipe, Saint Thomas Tower
• John T. Thompson – Thompson submachine gun
• Miloš Tichý, Czech astronomer – The comet P/2000 U6 Tichý
• Johann Daniel Titius, German astronomer and Johann Elert Bode, German astronomer – Titius–Bode Law
• Josip Broz Tito, Yugoslavian president – titoism, Titovka (cap)
• James Tobin, American economist – Tobin tax
• J.R.R. Tolkien, South-African/British novelist – Tolkienology
• Lorenzo de Tonti, Italian businessman - tontine
• Howard Henry Tooth, British neurologist – Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease
• Carlos Torre Repetto – Torre Attack
• Evangelista Torricelli, Italian mathematician and inventor – torr (unit of pressure), Torricelli's Law, Torricelli's equation, Torricelli/Fermat point
• Linus Torvalds, Finnish computer programmer – Linus's law, Linux operating system (from Linus' Minix), Tux – mascot of Linux (from Torvald's Unix)
• Charles Townshend, British politician – Townshend Acts
• Arnold Toynbee, British economist - Toynbee Hall
• Sakichi Toyoda, Japanese businessman – Toyota
• Trajan, Roman emperor – Trajan's Column, Trajan's Wall
• Trillian, British literary character – Trillian (software),^[9] Project Trillian
• Octavio Trompowsky, Brazilian chess player – Trompowsky Attack
• Leon Trotsky, Russian politician and writer – Trotskyism ^[10]
• The Troubadour (London) founded 1954 – The Troubadour (Los Angeles) founded 1957
• Harry S. Truman, American president – Truman doctrine ^[11]
• Donald Trump, American businessman and politician – Trump Tower, the Trump International Hotel and Tower, Trump Plaza etc.
• Mikhail Tugan-Baranovsky, Russian economist – Tugan-Baranovskii theory of business cycles ^[10]
• Túpac Amaru II, Peruvian resistance leader - Tupamaros
• Alan Turing, British mathematician and inventor – Turing machine, Turing-complete, Turing tarpit, Turing test, Church–Turing thesis, Church–Turing–Deutsch principle
• J. M. W. Turner, English painter – Turner Prize ^[11]
• Ted Turner, American business man – Turner Entertainment, Turner Classic Movies, Turner Broadcasting System or TBS, TBS Superstation, WTBS, Turner Network Television or TNT, Turner Tomorrow Fellowship Award, Ted Turner debate (a style of team debate recognized by the National Forensic League; also referred to as Controversy debate)
• Mr. Turveydrop , British literary character – Turveydrop ^[3]
• Marie Tussaud, French sculptor – Madame Tussauds
• John Tyler, American president – to tylerize (to forsake one's own party) ^[10]
• Edward Burnett Tylor, British anthropologist – Tylorism ^[10]

U

• Uranus, Greek-Roman mythological character - uranium
• Uriah the Hittite, Biblical character - In some languages, like Dutch and German, a letter bringing bad news or luck is named a "Uriah letter". ^{[12] [13]}
• Saint Ursula, Christian martyr - Ursulines

V

• Saint Valentine, Roman martyr – Valentine's Day
• Jean Parisot de Valette, French nobleman – Valletta
• Vanadis, synonym for the Norse mythological character Freyja - vanadium
• James Van Allen, American astronomer – Van Allen radiation belt
• Eddie Van Halen and Alex Van Halen – creators of band Van Halen
• George Vancouver, British explorer – Vancouver, British Columbia, Vancouver, Washington, Vancouver Island
• Johannes Diderik van der Waals, Dutch physicist – Van der Waals force
• Robert J. Van de Graaff, American physicist – Van de Graaff generator
• Publius Quinctilius Varus – Varian disaster (The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest)
• Philippe de Vendôme – Vendôme Tower, Vendôme Battery, Vendôme Redoubt
• Saint Venera – Santa Venera, Santa Venerina, Santa Verna
• John Venn, British mathematician – Venn diagram
• Hugues Loubenx de Verdalle – Verdala Palace
• Jules Verne, French novelist – Verneshot
• Pierre Vernier, French mathematician - Vernier scale
• Edward Vernon, British naval officer - "groggy", Mount Vernon ^[14]
• Amerigo Vespucci, Italian explorer – America, North America, South America, Central America, Latin America
• Queen Victoria, British queen – Queensland, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria Island, Victoria Strait, Great Victoria Desert, Lake Victoria, Victoria, Gozo, Victoria Harbour, London Victoria station, Victoria line, Victorian era, Queen Victoria Street, London, Victoria Cross, Victoria Land, Victoria Tower, Royal Victoria Dock, Victoria and Albert Museum, Victorian architecture, Victorian house, Victoria, Seychelles, Victoria Lines, Victoria plum, Victoria sponge cake
• António Manoel de Vilhena – Fort Manoel, Manoel Island, Manoel Theatre
• Saint Vincent – Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Leonardo da Vinci, Italian artist and scientist – Leonardo, one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic characters, The Da Vinci Code, a fiction book by Dan Brown and a movie by the same name
• Andrew Viterbi (born 1935), Qualcomm Corp. – Viterbi algorithm
• Vitruvius, Roman architect – Homo Vitruvianus or Vitruvian Man – famous drawing by Leonardo da Vinci
• Alessandro Volta, Italian physicist – the volt, a unit of electromotive force, the Volta Prize, and Volta Crater of the moon

W

• Robert Wade – Wade Defence
• Richard Wagner, German composer – Wagner tuba, a brass instrument that combines elements of both the French horn and the tuba.
• Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, Saudi-Arabian theologist - Wahhabi movement
• Alfred Russel Wallace, Welsh biologist – Wallace Line, Wallace's flying frog, Operation Wallacea, Wallacea
• Peter Waldo, French religious leader – Waldensians ^[10]
• Samuel Wallis, 18th century navigator – Wallis and Futuna
• Adam Walsh, American rape and murder victim – Code Adam
• Sam Walton, American business man – Wal-Mart and Sam's Club
• Preston Ware – Ware Opening
• Albert Warner, Harold Warner, Jack L. Warner and Sam Warner, American film producers – Warner Bros.
• Arthur P. Warner and John K. Stewart – Stewart–Warner
• Earl Warren, American chief of justice – Warren commission ^[10]
• George Washington, American general and president – Washington and Washington, D.C.
• James Watt, Scottish inventor – watt
• Ernst Heinrich Weber, German psychologist - Weber's law, Weber test, Weberian apparatus
• Wilhelm Eduard Weber, German physicist – weber
• Friedrich Wegener – Wegener's granulomatosis
• Peter J. Weinberger – the second letter of the name awk, a computer pattern/action language, is taken from Weinberger
• August Weismann, German biologist – Weismannism ^[10]
• Sam Weller, British literary character - wellerism
• Duke of Wellington, British general and Prime Minister – Beef Wellington, Wellington boot, Wellington (New Zealand), Wellingtonia (tree)
• H.G. Wells, British novelist – Wellsian ^[10]
• Eudora Welty, American novelist – Eudora, an e-mail client.
• Mae West, American actress – Mae West jacket ^[14]
• Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr – Delaware
• Thomas Aldridge Weston, American inventor - Weston differential pulley ^[15]
• George Hoyt Whipple, American physician – Whipple's disease
• Gough Whitlam, Australian Prime Minister – The Whitlams pop group
• Frederick Methvan Whyte (1865–1941) – Whyte notation
• Knut Wicksell, Swedish economist – Wicksell effect, Wicksell's theory of capital ^[10]
• Wilhelm Wien, Russian mathematician – Wien's displacement law
• Alof de Wignacourt – Wignacourt Aqueduct, Wignacourt towers, Wignacourt Tower
• Eugene Wigner, Hungarian-American mathematician – Wigner's friend
• Private Wilhelm, American film character from the film The Charge at Feather River (1953) - Wilhelm Scream ^[16]
• Erik Adolf von Willebrand, Finnish physician – Von Willebrand disease, Von Willebrand factor
• Max Wilms, German physician – Wilms' tumor
• Charles Thomson Rees Wilson, Scottish physician - Wilson cloud chamber, Wilson condensation cloud
• Samuel Alexander Kinnier Wilson – Wilson's disease, Wilson disease protein
• Oliver F. Winchester, American inventor – Winchester repeating rifle
• Caspar Wistar, American physicist – Wisteria
• Władysław II Jagiełło, Polish king – Jagiellonian University
• Kaspar Friedrich Wolff, German physiologist – Wolffian duct
• Frank Winfield Woolworth, American businessman – Woolworth Building
• Ferdinand von Wrangel, German explorer – Isle of Wrangel
• Josef Wronski, Polish mathematician – Wronskian

X

• Xanthippe, wife of Greek philosopher Socrates – xanthippe (dominant, difficult female partner), Xanthippe's Shrew ^[17]
• Anthony Xerri, Maltese man who discovered an underground cave – Xerri's Grotto
• Francisco Ximenes de Texada, Maltese religious leader – Ximenes Redoubt

Y

• Pops Yoshimura, Japanese businessman – Yoshimura motorcycle tuning company

Z

• Walter J. Zable – Zable Stadium for college football
• Frank J. Zamboni, Italian-American inventor – Zamboni ice resurfacer
• Emiliano Zapata, Mexican revolutionary – zapatista
• Frank Zappa, American rock artist and composer – zappa-esque
• Mao Zedong, Chinese head of state – maoism
• Pieter Zeeman, Dutch physicist – Zeeman effect
• Eduard Zeis, German physician – glands of Zeis
• Helmut Zeisel, German mathematician – Zeisel number
• Martin Zelder, American economist – Zelder paradox
• Zeno of Elea, Greek philosopher – Paradox of Zeno
• Zephyr, Greek mythological character – zephyr
• Ferdinand von Zeppelin, German inventor – zeppelin
• Zoroaster, Persian religious leader – Zoroastrianism
• Huldrich Zwingli, Swiss religious leader – Zwinglianism

See also

• Lists of etymologies
• List of people

Sources

1. Shipley, Joseph Twadell (2001-02-15). The Origins of English Words. ISBN 978-0-8018-6784-2.
2. Nathan, Joan (2010-11-02). Quiches, Kugels, and Couscous. ISBN 978-0-307-59450-1.
3. Garg, Anu (2007-10-30). The Dord, the Diglot, and an Avocado or Two. ISBN 978-1-4406-2309-7.
4. Penrose, R. (1979). "Pentaplexity a Class of Non-Periodic Tilings of the Plane". The Mathematical Intelligencer 2: 32. doi:10.1007/BF03024384.
5. "Antoinette Perry – History from the Tony Awards – TonyAwards.com – The American Theatre Wing's Tony Awards® - Official Website by IBM". TonyAwards.com.
6. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1688790.stm
7. Amanda Gold (31 May 2009). "Bay Area stars freshening up 5 classic dishes". The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
8. "Doubting Thomas – Definition of Doubting Thomas by Merriam-Webster".
9. Stacy Cowley. "CNN.com – Trillian restores AOL IM connection – February 26, 2002".
10. Trahair, R. C. S (1994). From Aristotelian to Reaganomics. ISBN 978-0-313-27961-4.
11. "9 things you need to know about the Turner Prize".
12. http://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Uriasbrief
13. http://www.etymologiebank.nl/trefwoord/uriasbrief
14. Freeman, Morton S (1997-12-18). A New Dictionary of Eponyms. ISBN 978-0-19-509354-4.
15. http://www.hoistmagazine.com/features/the-history-makers/
16. Malvern, Jack (May 21, 2005). "Aaaaaaaarrrrrrrrgggggghhh!!". The Times. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
17. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2014-08-28). The Eponym Dictionary of Birds. ISBN 978-1-4729-0574-1.