What is "onomastics"

"scientific study of names and naming," 1936, from onomastic; also see -ics.

n. The branch of lexicology devoted to the study of names and naming, especially the origins of names.

n. the branch of lexicology that studies the forms and origins of proper names

Onomastics or onomatology is the study of the origin, history, and use of proper names. Onomastics originates from the Greek ὀνομαστικός (onomastikós), which translates to "of or belonging to naming", from ὄνομα (ónoma) meaning "name". Toponymy or toponomastics, the study of place names, is one of the principal branches of onomastics. Anthroponomastics is the study of personal names. Onomastics can be helpful in data mining, with applications such as named-entity recognition, or recognition of the origin of names. An orthonym is the proper name of the object in question, the object of onomastic study.