proper noun

noun
1.
Grammar. a noun that is used to denote a particular person, place, or thing, as Lincoln, Sarah, Pittsburgh, and Carnegie Hall.
Also called proper name.
Compare common noun.
Origin
1490-1500
Grammar note
Proper nouns are not normally preceded by an article or other limiting modifier, as any or some. Nor are they usually pluralized. But the language allows for exceptions. Proper nouns may occasionally have a definite article as part of the name, as in the case of some ships, organizations, and hotels, as The Titanic, The Humane Society, and The Plaza. An indefinite article is appropriate when you use a name as an exemplar: She looks like a young Elizabeth Taylor! And there is sometimes a reason for treating a name as if it were a generic: There are four Devons in my class. Proper nouns, usually capitalized in English, are arbitrary, in that a name can be given to someone or something without regard to any descriptive meaning the word or phrase may otherwise have.
Examples from the web for proper noun
  • Kelvin is a proper noun and refers to the measurement system.
  • Capitalize if it's an abbreviation of a proper noun.
  • Use upper and lower case characters for all names and capitalize the first letter in a proper noun.
  • Use upper and lower case for all names and capitalize the first letter in a proper noun.
  • Extensive research has not established that the name has any meaning other than a proper noun.
  • Capital letters are an important cue to readers and translators that a term is a proper noun, not a common noun.
  • The first letter in a proper noun should be capitalized and proper spacing used.
  • Road is not a proper noun so the word should not be capitalized when used in the middle of a sentence.
British Dictionary definitions for proper noun

proper noun

noun
1.
the name of a person, place, or object, as for example Iceland, Patrick, or Uranus Compare common noun related adjective onomastic