An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Name
Name, m., ‘name,’ from the equiv. MidHG. name, OHG. namo, m. This word, to which there are corresponding terms in all the Teut. and Aryan languages, is of the greatest antiquity, and is most widely diffused. Comp. OSax. namo, Du. naam, AS. nǫma, nama, m., E. name; Goth. namô, n. OIc. nafn, n. (for namn), ‘name’; equiv. to the corresponding Sans. nãman-, Gr. ὄ-νουα, Lat. nômen, OSlov. imę, n. (from *ĭn-men, *n-men), Pruss. emmens, OIr. ainm. The Aryan primit. form may have been nō̆men-. Aryan nômen is indicated by MidHG. bennomen and Du. noemen, ‘to name,’ yet the OSlov. and OIr. words present some phonetic difficulties. Formerly Gr. ὄνομα and Lat. nômen were derived from the root γνω-, gnô-, ‘to recognise’ comp. E. to know, see kennen), so that Aryan nō̆men would represent gnômen, and have orig. signified ‘means of recognition’; this view wants phonetic confirmation. Others derive Name from the root nem in nehmen, so that the word would mean ‘that which is accepted,’ which is likewise improbable; see further nennen and nämlich.