Ones after whom others are named

The answer to this crossword question is “eponyms“. Eponyms are people or things after whom others are named. For example, the word “sandwich” is an eponym named after John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, who is said to have invented the food item. Other examples of eponyms include “Boycott” (named after Charles Boycott, an Irish land agent who was shunned by his community), “Diesel” (named after Rudolf Diesel, the inventor of the diesel engine), and “Fahrenheit” (named after Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, the inventor of the mercury thermometer).