The Greek eponomazo (Strong's G2028) means 'to call by a name,' 'to name,' or 'to bear the title of.' It combines epi (upon) and onomazo (to name). Its sole New Testament appearance is in Romans 2:17, where Paul addresses the Jewish interlocutor who 'calls himself (eponomazē) a Jew' — a pointed challenge about the gap between bearing a name and embodying its meaning.
Paul's use of eponomazo in Romans 2:17 launches one of the most searching critiques of religious nominalism in Scripture. To 'call oneself' a Jew — or by extension, a Christian — without the corresponding inward reality is to claim a name without its substance. The critique runs through Romans 2-3: the name 'Jew' carried enormous privilege (oracles of God, covenant, law) but those privileges did not automatically confer righteousness. The same principle applies universally: to bear the name 'Christian' without transformation of heart is to wear an empty title. Paul's question still echoes: You call yourself by a Name — does that Name dwell in you, or do you merely dwell in the name?