put a name to

English

Alternative forms

• put a name on

Verb

put a name to (third-person singular simple present puts a name to, present participle putting a name to, simple past and past participle put a name to)

1. To attribute a person's name to (their face, voice, photo, etc.).
   • 1920, Edith Wharton, chapter 9, in The Age of Innocence‎^[1], New York: D. Appleton, page 77:

     “I can’t put a name to you—but I’m sure I’ve met you—I’ve met everybody, here, or in Paris or London. Aren’t you in diplomacy? […] ”

2. To name or identify (something).
   • 1853, Charles Dickens, chapter 33, in Bleak House‎^[2], London: Chapman & Hall, page 367:

     “give your orders, you two gentlemen, and you’re welcome to whatever you put a name to.”

   • 1986, Stephen King, chapter 7, in It, New York: Viking, page 295:

     It was a feeling so alien to his usual state of being that he was not able to put a name to it until that night, lying in bed and looking at the ceiling and replaying the day. Power.

3. To identify the author of (a publication or other writing).
   • 1658, Jeremiah Ives, Confidence Encountred‎^[3], London, p. 11, footnote:

     I had otherwise interpreted this phrase, had he put a name to his book

   • 1697, Thomas Burnet, Second Remarks upon An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding‎^[4], page 30:

     how unusual soever it is to put a Name to such small Papers

   • 1711, F. Manning, “Memorial to the Grisons” in The Present State of Europe, February 1711, Volume 12, p. 57,^[5]

     Libels which have been publish’d, but which no Body durst put a Name to

Translations

to attribute a person's name to

• Danish: sætte ansigt på, * Danish: sætte navn på
• Italian: associare un nome a

Further reading

• “put a name to”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “put a name to”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “put a name to” (US) / “put a name to” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.