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[Jurassic Referee]

Originally posted by ChuckElias
"namesake n. a person having the same name as another" (The New Lexicon Webster's Dictionary of the English Language, Encylopedic Edition, 1989)

or

"one that has the same name as another; especially : one who is named after another or for whom another is named" (www.m-w.com).

Being a namesake doesn't imply that a person is named after another. It can mean that they simply share a name. Or it can mean that the other person was named for the original person.

Thanks for the info, Dick.