Originally Posted By: Alex Williams
Is there a word for that quality which a word or phrase may have that marks it to our ears as a proper noun? Depending on your frame of reference certain words are obviously names...

So, is there a name for the characteristic itself, that ring of nomenclature?


I think the answer is no. There is no term because the phenomenon you describe doesn't exist (at least not in English). There is no "nounish" inflexion or indicator, but it is purely grammatical and social context that tells us that it is a name. Or as you put it, frame of reference.