noun
name on a document; formal name; registered name
The name under which something is registered, owned, signed, contracted, or published. Common in legal and administrative contexts such as 口座の名義, 契約者名義, and 会社名義.
この口座は妻の名義になっている。
This account is in my wife's name.
契約書の名義を会
We changed the name on the contract from the company to an individual.
noun
moral duty; duty attached to one's position
Rare use close to 名分, referring to a moral or social obligation implied by one's name, status, or role. Modern Japanese usually uses 名分 or more specific wording instead.
See also: 名分
古い文脈では、「君臣の名義」のように名義が道義上の務めを表すことがある。
In older contexts, 名義 may refer to a moral duty, as in phrases like “the duties between lord and retainer.”
noun
justification; pretext; nominal reason
Formal or somewhat old-fashioned use for the stated label, reason, or justification under which something is done; it can imply a pretext. 名目 is often the more common modern word for this nuance.
彼らは視察の名義で温泉地に出張した。
They went on a business trip to the hot-spring area under the pretext of an inspection.