first name
- noun
- /fɜrst neɪm/
- - What's your first name?
- first name and last name
- use first names
- know someone's first name
So my name is Anna Bell, first name Anna, last name Bell.
- So my name is Anna Bell, first name Anna, last name Bell.
- And he goes, I met someone and their first name was Elton John.
- I can't remember his first name right now, might be James.
- So it's just my first name, Eric and then last name EICKHOF.
- And he was in Cheyenne, WY and his first name was Walt.
- And he kept calling me by my first name throughout the entire flight.
- I would say Lisa, say your first name and then complete these three sentences.
- And so my flight has been booked under my first name and middle name.
- I remember talking to one of them just use her first name Emma.
- Epstein is a, first of all, the guy, what was his first name?
- Name the the first name of the last person that you had sexual intercourse with.
- That's actually like the first half of his first name.
- Like, you know, first name that got brought up was Hooch.
- But say his first name, blink twice.
Examples
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Opening Questions: Please tell us your first name, your position, and how long you've been at the library.
Academic text (2012) -
So my name is Anna Bell, first name Anna, last name Bell.
-
And he kept calling me by my first name throughout the entire flight.
-
Like, we're on a first name basis here.
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You need to say their first name and room number.
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What was his first name?
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I introduced myself by my first name, explained why I was there, and became one of them.
Academic text (1995) -
The captain had asked her, "May I call you by your first name, Johanna?"
Fiction book (1992) -
Teachers can also require students to use only their first names or pseudonyms to protect their identities.
Academic text (2015) -
Can you please tell me your first name?
Synonyms
The name a person has before their family name
A person's first name given at birth or baptism
The first name someone has before their family name
A name given to someone in a Christian church ceremony when they are a baby
How Formal
- Formal
- UK
- Informal
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'the name used before a family name' is directly derivable from combining 'first' (preceding in order) with 'name' (identifier), i.e., the name that comes first. This compositional pattern is cross‑linguistically common (given name vs family name), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily understand it.
Etymology
First name comes from the idea of the very first name a child is given, often at birth or baptism. Because that name usually comes before the family name, first + name means 'the given name' you use before your last name.