"giving one's name to," 1833; see eponym + -ous. Related: Eponymously. Alternative form eponymal is used in reference to the other classical eponymos, a title of certain magistrates in ancient Greece who gave their names to the years when they held office. Eponymic has been used in the sense "name-giving; pertaining to eponymic myths" as well as "of or pertaining to a classical eponymos."