Named For vs Named After

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Named For vs Named After

by Tega1984 » Wed May 25, 2011 6:03 am
Recently I came across an idiom ''named for''. I always thought that the correct idiom was named after. Please explain what's the difference between these two and when should I use named for and when named after?

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by sameerballani » Wed May 25, 2011 6:24 am
I don't think there is any difference between named for and named after.
I googled it but wherever i found named for it was probably same as named after. Usage and meaning wise.

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by itsmebharat » Thu May 26, 2011 3:05 am
Which one is correct ??

Even though Clovis points , spear points with longitudinal grooves chipped onto their faces, have been found all over north America, they are named for the new Mexico site where they were first discovered in 1932.


Even though Clovis points , spear points with longitudinal grooves chipped onto their faces, have been found all over north America, they are named after the new Mexico site where they were first discovered in 1932.
I am not an Expert, please feel free to suggest if there is an error.

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by atulmangal » Thu May 26, 2011 4:40 am
itsmebharat wrote:Which one is correct ??

Even though Clovis points , spear points with longitudinal grooves chipped onto their faces, have been found all over north America, they are named for the new Mexico site where they were first discovered in 1932.


Even though Clovis points , spear points with longitudinal grooves chipped onto their faces, have been found all over north America, they are named after the new Mexico site where they were first discovered in 1932.

seems to me an OG question and if i remember correctly, the second one is correct...m i correct???

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by HSPA » Thu May 26, 2011 4:43 am
atulmangal wrote:
itsmebharat wrote:Which one is correct ??

Even though Clovis points , spear points with longitudinal grooves chipped onto their faces, have been found all over north America, they are named for the new Mexico site where they were first discovered in 1932.


Even though Clovis points , spear points with longitudinal grooves chipped onto their faces, have been found all over north America, they are named after the new Mexico site where they were first discovered in 1932.

seems to me an OG question and if i remember correctly, the second one is correct...m i correct???
+1 for Named after.. We say the boy was named after his grand father.. means grandpa's name = grandson's name
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by sameerballani » Thu May 26, 2011 5:20 am
atulmangal wrote:
itsmebharat wrote:Which one is correct ??

Even though Clovis points , spear points with longitudinal grooves chipped onto their faces, have been found all over north America, they are named for the new Mexico site where they were first discovered in 1932.


Even though Clovis points , spear points with longitudinal grooves chipped onto their faces, have been found all over north America, they are named after the new Mexico site where they were first discovered in 1932.

seems to me an OG question and if i remember correctly, the second one is correct...m i correct???
I think it should be named after. ie. option B

Named for is probably used when declaring names for something.
whereas name after is probably used when naming something after someone.
But i just googled it and found few sentences that i would like to share.

In the Roman calendar, the fourth day of the week was named for Jupiter. (Named after seems to be more appropriate here)
Judges named for hearing on Katsav's rape verdict appeal.
Two Continents Named for One Man. (Named after seems to be more appropriate here)
Awful words named for real people. (Named after seems to be more appropriate here)

I am confused.
But finally, I feel the structure is something like-
X named for SOMETHING.
X named after SOMEONE.

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by lunarpower » Fri May 27, 2011 12:41 am
both "named for" and "named after" are acceptable idioms; there is really no difference.

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itsmebharat wrote:Which one is correct ??

Even though Clovis points , spear points with longitudinal grooves chipped onto their faces, have been found all over north America, they are named for the new Mexico site where they were first discovered in 1932.


Even though Clovis points , spear points with longitudinal grooves chipped onto their faces, have been found all over north America, they are named after the new Mexico site where they were first discovered in 1932.
there are 2 things wrong here --

1) the question "which one is correct?" -- this seems to reveal an assumption that only one idiom can be correct in a given context. in other words, it seems that you think that, if one idiom is correct, then all possible alternatives must be wrong.
this is very much false -- in MOST cases, there will be a large number of correct ways in which things can be written. (this is why, even with the rules of formal english as stringent as they are, no two writers will have the same style.).
you must consider all idioms separately!
just because one idiom is correct, others don't have to be wrong!


2) go back and look at the OG problem in question (it's OG12 #98); this split does not exist in that question. the idiom used in all five choices is "named for".
in fact, the phrase "named after" does not occur anywhere in either OG12 or the OG verbal supplement, so there's no official justification for considering this split in the first place.
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.

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by confuse mind » Fri May 27, 2011 1:55 am
@above

I don't agree with you. In the above case, I feel 'Named For' is wrong and only 'Named after' is correct.

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by Tega1984 » Fri May 27, 2011 2:03 am
Thanks very much Ron.

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by lunarpower » Fri May 27, 2011 2:53 am
confuse mind wrote:@above

I don't agree with you. In the above case, I feel 'Named For' is wrong and only 'Named after' is correct.
1)
this reasoning is based on what?

2)
much more importantly:
did you read that whole post?
go read og12 #98, as mentioned in that post -- "named for" is in all five choices!
so, either you're incorrect or the OG is incorrect; we know which way that one goes.
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.

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by confuse mind » Mon May 30, 2011 1:30 am
Ok, I say the above problem in a different way

If anywhere in a sentence, I have 2 options:

Ram named X for Y.
Ram named X after Y.

which one is to be preferred in exam

Can we have some experts opinion please.

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by sameerballani » Mon May 30, 2011 2:47 am
In case you don't know or your did not notice, The one who has replied above is expert only.

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by Tega1984 » Mon May 30, 2011 4:08 am
Well the thing is that both of those two idioms will not be among the answer choices.Because they're both correct as Ron has stated. Moreover, even if both of those idioms will be among the choices,the sentences will have other errors in them on the basis of which you should eliminate them, you should not eliminate them because of named for or named after
confuse mind wrote:Ok, I say the above problem in a different way

If anywhere in a sentence, I have 2 options:

Ram named X for Y.
Ram named X after Y.

which one is to be preferred in exam

Can we have some experts opinion please.

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by lunarpower » Wed Jun 01, 2011 6:02 am
Tega1984 wrote:Well the thing is that both of those two idioms will not be among the answer choices.Because they're both correct as Ron has stated. Moreover, even if both of those idioms will be among the choices,the sentences will have other errors in them on the basis of which you should eliminate them, you should not eliminate them because of named for or named after
this is a good summary.

basically, if you see a split between "named for" and "named after", you can't eliminate either -- the purpose of that split would be to distract you from the actual errors!
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.

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by mattgb » Wed Feb 06, 2013 5:25 am
Looks like 'after' is more commonly used in British English (as I expected being a Brit) and 'for' is more commonly used in American English, although not exclusively in either:
https://separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogs ... verbs.html