What does the term “eponym” actually mean?”
An eponym is the name of a person, whether real or fictitious, after which a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named. One who is referred to as eponymous is someone that gives their name to something, e.g. Julian, the eponymous owner of the famous restaurant Julian’s Castle. Something eponymous is named after a particular person, e.g. Julian’s eponymous restaurant. In contemporary English, the term eponymous is often used to mean self-titled. An Etiological Myth is a “reverse eponym” in the sense that a legendary character is invented in order to explain a term.
