Eponymous
EPONYMOUS, that which gives a name to anything , a term especially applied to the mythical or semi-mythical personages, heroes, deities, etc. from whom a country or city took its name. Thus Pelops is the giver of the name to the Peloponnese. At Athens the chief archon of the year was known as the , as the year was known by his name. There was a similar official in ancient Assyria. In ancient times, as in historical and modern cases, a country or a city has been named after a real personage, but in many cases the person has been invented to account for the name.
Note - this article incorporates content from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, (1910-1911)
