In zoological nomenclature, a specific name (sometimes, informally, also: specific epithet) is the second part (second name) in the name of a species (a binomen). The first part is the name of the genus. Note that in botanical nomenclature, "name" always refers to the whole name (of a species or otherwise), whereas in zoological nomenclature it can refer to either part of the binomen. Example: The scientific name for man is Homo sapiens, which is the species name, consisting of two names: Homo is the "generic name" (the name of the genus) and sapiens the "specific name".