nameday

IPA/nˈeɪmdeɪ/
IPA/nˈeɪmdeɪ/

nameday — noun

1. a day each year linked to the saint who shares your name, often celebrated as yo

1.nounC2
Definition

a day each year linked to the saint who shares your name, often celebrated as your own special day.

Example

Rohan brought cakes to school for his nameday in June.

for + someone's nameday

The church calendar marked Mira's nameday beside Saint Lucy's feast in December.

church calendar marked + someone's nameday

Synonyms
  • name day

    same meaning, written as two words in some texts

  • saint's day

    close in religious contexts, but this can refer to the feast itself rather than a person's celebration

Grammar Patterns

on + someone's nameday

celebrate + someone's nameday

someone's nameday + falls on + date

Usage Note

Usually appears in cultures or churches that match a person's given name to a saint's feast day. In everyday English outside those traditions, people are often more familiar with birthdays than namedays.

Common Mistakes

Her nameday is the day she was born.
Her nameday is the saint's day linked to her name.
a nameday follows a calendar tradition, not a birth date.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

A nameday is closest to a birthday because people may mark it with cards, flowers, or a family meal, but it is tied to the saint or calendar day linked to a person's given name, not to the day they were born. In places where the custom is strong, it can feel like a small second birthday. A saint's day names the religious feast itself, so it may be used even when no particular person is celebrating. Feast day is broader still and can describe many religious festivals. You can say, 'We visited Grandma on her nameday,' but 'The parish prepared for Saint George's feast day.'

birthday ↗saint's dayfeast day

Common collocations

Nouns

  • nameday card
  • nameday feast
  • nameday celebration

Phrases

  • celebrate your nameday

Prepositions

  • on someone's nameday

Etymology

English

Nameday is a compound formed from the English words 'name' and 'day'. It came to mean the calendar day connected with the saint whose name a person bears, especially in Christian traditions where that day may be celebrated like a personal holiday.