demonym

A demonym, also referred to as a gentilic, is a name for a resident of a locality which is derived from the name of the particular locality. The word demonym comes from the Greek word for 'populace' (δῆμος demos) with the suffix for 'name' (-onym). In English, the demonym is often the same as the name of the people's native language: the people of Korea are called Korean, which is also the name of their language. National Geographic attributes the term to Merriam-Webster editor Paul Dickson. It was subsequently popularized in this sense in 1997 by Dickson in his book Labels for Locals.