# List of colleges and universities named after people

Many colleges and universities are named after people. Namesakes include the founder of the institution, financial benefactors, revered religious leaders, notable historical figures, members of royalty, current political leaders, and respected teachers or other leaders associated with the institution. This is a list of higher education institutions named for people.

## Institutions named for people associated with the institution
### Founders or their family members

The following institutions are named for the individual people who are credited as their founders. A few institutions were named by the founder in honor of a parent, child, spouse, or other close family member.
| Institution | Namesake | Notes |
| Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan | His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV | University was established by the Aga Khan in 1983 as part of the Aga Khan Development Network. |
| Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, Germany | Albert VI, Archduke of Austria and Louis I, Grand Duke of Baden | |
| Alice Lloyd College, Kentucky, US | Alice Spencer Geddes Lloyd | Journalist turned social reformer; founded the school in 1923 as Caney Junior College. |
| Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, India | Mata Amritanandamayi Devi | University's first chancellor and famed Indian spiritual leader |
| Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge and Chelmsford, England | John Ruskin | Founded as the Cambridge School of Art by John Ruskin in 1858. Renamed Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology in 1960. Merged into Anglia Higher Education College in 1989. Merged into Anglia Polytechnic in 1991. Renamed Anglia Ruskin University in 2005. |
| Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu, India | Raja Annamalai Chettiar | Philanthropist who established several higher education institutions |
| Audrey Cohen College, New York, US | Audrey Cohen | Educator; established the institution in 1964 as the Women's Talent Corps |
| Babson College, Massachusetts, US | Roger Babson | Entrepreneur and business theorist; founded the school in 1919 as Babson Institute. |
| Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Gopalgonj, Bangladesh | Sheikh Mujibur Rahman | Father of the nation of Bangladesh. |
| Bard College, New York, US | John Bard | John Bard and his wife founded the college as St. Stephen's College. |
| Baylor University, Texas, US | Robert Emmett Bledsoe Baylor | Texas judge who is regarded as one of three founders of the university. |
| Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur, Bangladesh | Begum Rokeya | Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, Bengali female writer, educator, social activist, and advocate of women's rights. |
| Bentley University, Massachusetts, US | Harry C. Bentley | Founder |
| Berklee College of Music, Massachusetts, US | Lee Eliot Berk | Son of founder Lawrence Berk |
| Berry College, Georgia, US | Martha McChesney Berry | Founder |
| Bethune-Cookman University, Florida, US | Mary McLeod Bethune and Alfred Cookman | Mary McLeod Bethune founded the school in 1904 and merged with Cookman Institute named after Alfred Cookman in 1935. |
| Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra (BIT), Mesra, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India | B. M. Birla | The founder was a member of the Birla family, one of the foremost business houses in India. |
| Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani, Rajasthan, India | Ghanshyam Das Birla | The founder was a member of the Birla family, one of the foremost business houses in India |
| Bishop College, Texas, US | Nathan Bishop | Educator who assisted with the founding of this institution for education of freed slaves |
| Blackburn College, Illinois, US | Gideon Blackburn | Preacher Blackburn, a former president of Centre College, was working to establish the new school at the time of his death in 1838, but opening of the school was delayed until 1859. |
| Bob Jones University, South Carolina, US | Bob Jones, Sr. | Evangelist preacher Bob Jones founded Bob Jones University in 1927. |
| Bond University, Queensland, Australia | Alan Bond | High-profile businessman Alan Bond founded Bond University in 1987. |
| Booth University College, Winnipeg, Manitoba | William and Catherine Booth | Namesakes were the founders of The Salvation Army, which established the college in 1982. |
| Bradley University, Illinois, US | Family of Lydia Moss Bradley | Lydia Moss Bradley founded the school in 1897 in memory of her husband Tobias and their six children, all of whom had died early and suddenly, leaving her a childless widow. |
| Brigham Young University, Utah | Brigham Young | President of the Church Brigham Young personally purchased the buildings of the failed University of Deseret, forming Brigham Young Academy in 1876. Brigham Young University campuses in Hawaii and Idaho now also bear his name. |
| Bryant University, Rhode Island, US | John Collins Bryant & Henry Beadman Bryant | Namesakes were founders of Bryant & Stratton College of which a spun-off branch became Bryant University |
| Butler University, Indiana, US | Ovid Butler | Established in 1855 as North Western Christian University; renamed in 1875 in honor of its founder, a Restoration Movement preacher and abolitionist who had achieved his goal of forming a Christian university in Indiana |
| Campbell University, North Carolina, US | James Archibald Campbell | Founded in 1887 as a community school named Buies Creek Academy; became a junior college in 1926 and was renamed in honor of its founder, a local preacher. The school became Campbell College in 1961 when it became a four-year school, and Campbell University in 1979 with the opening of its law school. |
| Carnegie Mellon University, Pennsylvania, US | Andrew Carnegie, Andrew W. Mellon, and Richard B. Mellon | The university was formed by the merger of Carnegie Institute of Technology, founded in 1900 by industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, and the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research, founded in 1913 by Andrew and Richard Mellon. |
| Case Western Reserve University, Ohio, US | Leonard Case, Jr. | The university was formed by the affiliation of Case School of Engineering (originally Case School of Applied Science, founded by Case in 1877) and Western Reserve University. |
| Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic | Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor | Founded in 1348 by the Emperor |
| Chitkara University, Punjab and Chitkara University, Himachal Pradesh | Ashok Chitkara and Madhu Chitkara | The universities was established by the Chitkara Educational Trust and was founded by Ashok K. Chitkara and Madhu Chitkara. |
| Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand | King Chulalongkorn the Great | Established in 1917 by King King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) of Siam (Thailand) and named in honor of his father. |
| Clark University, Massachusetts, US | Jonas Gilman Clark | Clark was both the founder and principal benefactor of the university, making major gifts in his lifetime and leaving a bequest that totaled about $2,915,000 in 1900. |
| Clarkson University, New York, US | Thomas Streatfeild Clarkson | Entrepreneur who was killed in 1894 trying to save a worker in his sandstone mining business. His family started the college in his memory. |
| Cleary University, Howell, MI US | Patrick Roger Cleary | Founded institution in 1883 as Cleary School of Penmanship |
| Cogswell College, California, US | Henry D. and Caroline Cogswell | Henry Cogswell, who founded the college in 1887 with his wife Caroline, was a dentist and temperance crusader. The defunct Henry Cogswell College also bore his name. |
| Coker College, South Carolina, US | James Lide Coker | Coker College began in 1894 as Welsh Neck High School founded by James Lide Coker. In 1908, Coker provided leadership for the conversion of the school to Coker College for Women. Men have attended since World War II. |
| Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, New York, US | Peter Cooper | Industrialist, inventor, and politician who conceived of the idea of having a free institute in New York. He erected a building and endowed the institution, which he presented to the City of New York in 1858. |
| Cornell College, Iowa, US | William Wesley Cornell | College was established as Iowa Conference Seminary in 1853 and renamed in 1857 in honor of iron tycoon Cornell, who is sometimes described as the school's founder. |
| Cornell University, New York, US | Ezra Cornell | University was founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White |
| Creighton University, Nebraska, US | Edward Creighton | Founded in 1878 through a gift from Mary Lucretia Creighton, who directed in her will that a school be established in memory of her husband. |
| Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, Canada | George Ramsay, 9th Earl of Dalhousie | Founded in 1818 by Ramsay, the British Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia |
| Dharmsinh Desai University, Gujarat, India | Dharmsinh Desai | Member of Parliament, educationist and social worker who established the institution in 1968 |
| Drexel University, Pennsylvania, US | Anthony Joseph Drexel I | Philadelphia financier and philanthropist who founded the school in 1891 |
| Emerson College, Massachusetts, US | Charles Wesley Emerson | Founded the college in 1880 as a school of oratory |
| Egerton University, Njoro, Kenya | Maurice Egerton, 4th Baron Egerton | Founded in 1939 on land donated by the British farmer |
| Dr. Hari Singh Gour University, India | Dr. Hari Singh Gour | Founded the institution in 1946 as University of Saugar, using his life savings |
| Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany | Count Eberhard VI and Duke Karl Eugen | Eberhard founded the university in 1477; in 1769 Duke Karl Eugen appended his first name to that of the founder. |
| Ferris State University, Michigan, US | Woodbridge N. Ferris | Educator who founded the institution in 1884; later served as governor of Michigan and as a US Senator |
| Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany | Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth and Alexander, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach | |
| Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado, São Paulo, Brazil | Count Armando Álvares Penteado [pt] | Brazilian philanthropist and art educator |
| Gallaudet University, District of Columbia, US | Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet | Established by his son, Edward Miner Gallaudet. World's only university geared for deaf people. |
| Georg August University of Göttingen, Germany | George II of Great Britain | Elector of Hanover |
| George Fox University, Oregon, US | George Fox | Founder of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) |
| GIK Institute, Topi, Pakistan | Ghulam Ishaq Khan | Named after a former president of Pakistan |
| Gibbs College | Katharine Gibbs | Founder of the institution, now operated as a chain of for-profit colleges |
| Gnessin State Musical College, Moscow, Russia | Sisters Eugenia [ru], Helena and Maria Gnessin [ru] | Established in 1895 by the sisters, who were pianists |
| Gordon College (Massachusetts), US | Adoniram Judson Gordon | Founder, in 1889; the college was originally known as the Boston Missionary Training School |
| Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (GCTS), multiple US locations | Adoniram Judson Gordon and Russell Conwell | Gordon started the Gordon Divinity School in Massachusetts in 1889; Conwell (also founder of ) started the Conwell School of Theology at Temple University; the two schools merged in 1969. |
| Goucher College, Maryland, US | John Goucher and Mary Fisher Goucher | Established in 1885 as The Woman's College of Baltimore, renamed in honor of its founders in 1910 |
| Habib University, Karachi, Pakistan | Habib Family, House of Habib | Established by the Habib Family in 2010 as Pakistan's premier liberal arts and sciences university. |
| Harvey Mudd College, California, US | Harvey Seeley Mudd | Benefactor who was involved in planning of the new institution, but died before it opened |
| Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science & Technology University, Dinajpur, Bangladesh | Hajee Mohammad Danesh | Bangladeshi peasant leader and politician. |
| Hobart and William Smith Colleges, New York, US | John Henry Hobart & William Smith | Founded in 1796 as Geneva Academy, becoming a college in 1822 under the leadership of Episcopal bishop John Henry Hobart. It was renamed in his honor in 1852. William Smith College was established as a coordinate college for women in 1906 with gifts from nurseryman William Smith. |
| Houghton University, New York, US | Willard J. Houghton | Wesleyan Methodist minister who founded the institution in 1883 |
| Hunter College, New York, US | Thomas Hunter | Founder |
| Hult International Business School, Boston, San Francisco, London, Dubai, Shanghai | Bertil Hult | |
| John A. Logan College, Illinois, US | Gen. John A. Logan | General John A. Logan was a resident of Southern Illinois, a Union volunteer in the Civil War, and a member of the US House of Representatives in 1858 as a democrat and again after the war in 1868 as a republican. The college mascot is the "Volunteers". |
| Johnson University, Tennessee, US | Ashley S. Johnson | Renamed from Johnson Bible College to current name in 2011 |
| Johnson & Wales University, US | Gertrude I. Johnson and Mary T. Wales | |
| Kalasalingam University, Tamil Nadu, India | Arulmigu Kalasalingam | Founded by Mr. Kalasalingam |
| Kameshwar Singh Darbhanga Sanskrit University, Bihar, India | Kameshwar Singh | In 1961 Maharaja Kameshwar Singh donated his ancestral house, Anandbag Palace, a rich library, and surrounding land to establish a Sanskrit university. |
| King's College London | King George IV | Founded by King George IV in 1829 |
| King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | King Saud | Founded by King Saud in 1957 |
| Lane College, Tennessee, US | Isaac Lane | Lane was a bishop of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church, which sponsored the school's establishment in 1882. |
| LeMoyne–Owen College, Tennessee, US | Francis Julius LeMoyne & S. A. Owen | LeMoyne (1798–1879), a Pennsylvania doctor, donated $20,000 to the American Missionary Association in 1870 to help establish the institution that became LeMoyne College. The namesake of Owen College, established in 1947 as S.A. Owen Junior College, was a distinguished religious and civic leader. The two historically black institutions merged in 1968. |
| Leopold-Franzens University, Innsbruck, Austria | Emperor Leopold I, Emperor Francis I | Founded by Emperor Leopold I in 1669, re-established by Emperor Francis I in 1826. |
| LeTourneau University, Texas, US | R.G. LeTourneau | Founder, with his wife Evelyn, of LeTourneau Technical Institute, formed in 1946 to educate veterans returning from World War II |
| Lipscomb University, Tennessee, US | David Lipscomb | Restoration Movement minister who, together with James A. Harding, founded the institution in 1891 |
| Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany | Louis IX, Duke of Bavaria and Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria | |
| Magee College of University of Ulster, Northern Ireland | Martha Magee | Widow of a Presbyterian minister, who, in 1845, bequeathed £20,000 to the Presbyterian Church in Ireland to found a college for theology and the arts |
| Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Gujarat, India | Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III | Founder |
| Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Vedic University, Madhya Pradesh, India | Maharishi Mahesh Yogi | |
| Maharishi Open University | Maharishi Mahesh Yogi | |
| Maharishi University of Management, Iowa, US | Maharishi Mahesh Yogi | |
| McGill University Montreal, Quebec, Canada | James McGill | The university was established in 1821 following a bequest of money and land from the wealthy Montreal merchant and war hero James McGill. |
| McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada | William McMaster | Bequeathed C$900,000 to the founding of the university. |
| Millikin University, Illinois, US | James Millikin | Local businessman who founded the school in 1901 |
| Mills College at Northeastern University, California, US | Susan Tolman Mills and Cyrus Mills | Originally established as the Young Ladies Seminary; Susan and Cyrus Mills bought it in 1866, renamed it Mills Seminary, and later converted it to Mills College. Susan Mills served as principal and president until 1909. |
| Millsaps College, Mississippi, US | Reuben Webster Millsaps | A Confederate veteran, Major Millsaps founded the college in 1889-90 by donating $50,000 and land for the campus. |
| M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia | Mikhail Lomonosov | University was established on the instigation of Ivan Shuvalov and Mikhail Lomonosov by a decree of Russian Empress Elizabeth in 1755. |
| Moody Bible Institute, Chicago, US | Dwight Lyman Moody | |
| National Sun Yat-sen University, Republic of China (Taiwan) | Sun Yat-sen | Successor to Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, re-established in Taiwan by the ROC government |
| National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Kyiv, Ukraine | Petro Mohyla | Institution traces its history to the 1632 merger of two other schools by Mohyla, Metropolitan bishop of Kiev and Galicia. |
| Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India | Fath Jang Nawwab Mir Osman Ali Khan Asif Jah VII | Last Nizam (ruler) of the Princely State of Hyderabad, whose charitable trust founded the institute in the 1960s |
| Oral Roberts University, Oklahoma, US | Oral Roberts | Televangelist preacher who founded the university in 1963 |
| Osmania University, Andhra Pradesh, India | Osman Ali Khan, Asif Jah VII | Founded the university in 1918 |
| Otis College of Art and Design, California, US | Harrison Gray Otis | Founded in 1918 on land bequeathed for the purpose by Otis, founder of the Los Angeles Times newspaper |
| Pace University, New York, US | Homer Pace and Charles Ashford Pace | Brothers who founded the school in 1906 |
| Patten University, California, US | Dr. Bebe Patten | Christian evangelist; founded the school in 1944 as the Oakland Bible Institute |
| Pepperdine University, California, US | George Pepperdine | Businessman who had built a fortune founding and developing the Western Auto Supply Company; he established the college in 1937 |
| Philipps University of Marburg, Germany | Philipp I of Hesse | founded the university in 1527 |
| Pitzer College, California, US | Russell K. Pitzer | California citrus grower who founded the college in 1963 |
| Purdue University, Indiana, US | John Purdue | Businessman Purdue donated funds to the state of Indiana to establish a college of science, technology, and agriculture in his name. |
| Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, New York, US | Stephen Van Rensselaer III | Co-founder, with Amos Eaton |
| Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa | Cecil John Rhodes | English-born Prime Minister of Cape Colony, mining magnate and founder of Rhodesia |
| Rice University, Texas, US | William Marsh Rice | Businessman whose designated that his estate be used to establish the institution |
| The Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, Scotland | Robert Gordon | Merchant Gordon, who died in 1731, willed his estate to build a residential school for young boys in Aberdeen. That school was the genesis of the institution now called the Robert Gordon University. |
| Roberts Wesleyan University, New York, US | Benjamin Titus Roberts and John Wesley | Named in honor of both the college founder (Roberts) and the founder of Methodism and the Wesleyan Church (Wesley). |
| Rockefeller University, New York, US | John D. Rockefeller | Founded in 1901 by the oil baron and philanthropist as the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research |
| Royal Holloway, University of London, England | Thomas Holloway | Founded Royal Holloway College as a women-only college in 1879 |
| Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, Germany | Rupert I, Elector Palatine and Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Baden | Founded by Ruprecht in 1386 and re-established by Karl in 1803 |
| Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Uttar Pradesh, India | Dr. Sampurnanand | Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and cofounder in 1958 of the university that was renamed for him in 1974 |
| Sarah Lawrence College, New York, US | Sarah Lawrence, wife of William Van Duzer Lawrence | The college was founded by New York real-estate mogul William Lawrence and named in honor of his wife. |
| Schreiner University, Texas, US | Capt. Charles Schreiner | The former Texas Ranger founded the school as Schreiner Institute, a combined secondary school and junior college, in 1923. Originally a military institute, it dropped military training in 1971 and ended high school instruction in 1973. It became a four-year institution in 1981. |
| Scripps College, California, US | Ellen Browning Scripps | |
| Shahjalal University of Science & Technology, Sylhet, Bangladesh | Hozrot Shahjalal | |
| Shimer College, Illinois, US | Frances Wood Shimer | Founded the school in 1853 as a non-denominational co-educational seminary |
| Silpakorn University, Thailand | Silpa Bhirasri | Italian-born art professor who founded the university in 1943; he took the Thai name Silpa Bhirasri when he became a Thai citizen |
| Skidmore College, New York, US | Lucy Skidmore Scribner and her father, Joseph Russell Skidmore | Lucy Skidmore Scribner formed the Young Women's Industrial Club in 1903 with inheritance money from her father, a prosperous coal merchant. In 1911, the club was chartered under the name "Skidmore School of Arts" as a college for vocational and professional training of young women. |
| Smith College, Massachusetts, US | Sophia Smith | Willed her inherited fortune to endow the founding of the college |
| Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Andhra Pradesh, India | Sathya Sai Baba | Founded the institution in 1981 |
| Stanford University, California, US | Leland Stanford, Jr. | Founded by railroad magnate and California Governor Leland Stanford and his wife, Jane Stanford, and named in honor of their only child, who died of typhoid just before his 16th birthday. |
| Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China | Dr. Sun Yat-sen | Physician, president of the Republic of China, and Kuomintang leader who founded the university in 1924 |
| Surendranath College, Kolkata, India | Surendranath Banerjea | Previously called Ripon College, named for the British Viceroy Lord Ripon; renamed in 1948-1949 for its founder, Indian nationalist leader Banerjea. |
| Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia | George Swinburne | Australian engineer, politician and philanthropist. Named Swinburne Technical College after its founder in 1913. Proclaimed as a university in 1992. |
| Thapar University, Punjab, India | Family of Karam Chand Thapar | Industrialist K.C. Thapar founded the school as the Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology in 1956 |
| Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal | Shah King of Nepal | Tribhuvan University was named after Late King Tribhuvan |
| Universidade Cândido Mendes, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Count Cândido Mendes de Almeida | Brazilian educator and first dean (1902) |
| Universidade Gama Filho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Luís da Gama Filho [pt] | Brazilian lawyer and educator |
| Van Mildert College (Durham University), England | William Van Mildert | Prince-Bishop of Durham from 1826 to 1836 and a leading figure in the founding of Durham University in 1832 |
| Vassar College, New York, US | Matthew Vassar | Brewer and merchant who founded the college in 1861 |
| Universidade Veiga de Almeida, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Mário Veiga de Almeida | Brazilian educator |
| Wells College, New York, US | Henry Wells | Founder of Wells Fargo and American Express who established the school as a woman's college in 1868 |
| Wheaton College (Massachusetts), US | Eliza Wheaton Strong | Wheaton Female Seminary was established in her memory by her family in 1835. |
| Wheelock College (Massachusetts), US | Lucy Wheelock | Founded the college in 1888 |
| Whitworth University, Washington, US | George F. Whitworth | Founded institution in 1883 as Sumner Academy; renamed in his honor in 1890 |

### Benefactors or their family members

| Institution | Namesake | Notes |
| Agnes Scott College, Georgia, US | Agnes Scott | George Washington Scott, Confederate general and businessman, gave $112,250 to Decatur Female Seminary (which he helped organize), which then renamed itself in honor of his mother. |
| Albertson College of Idaho, US | Joe Albertson | Grocery retailer and major donor to the College of Idaho, which changed its name in his honor in 1991, but reverted to its original name in 2007. |
| Ball State University, Indiana, US | The Ball Brothers | Founders of the Ball Corporation who bought the Indiana Normal Institute out of foreclosure and donated it to the state of Indiana. |
| Baruch College, New York, US | Bernard M. Baruch | The School of Business and Civic Administration of the City College of New York was renamed in 1953 for Baruch, a wealthy financier and devoted alumnus. The school received $9 million from his estate upon his death in 1965. |
| Bates College, Maine, US | Benjamin E. Bates | Boston financier; provided financial support for school's expansion in 1863. |
| Benedict College, South Carolina, US | Mrs. Bathsheba A. Benedict | Under the auspices of the American Baptist Home Mission Society, Mrs. Bathsheba A. Benedict of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, provided $13,000.00 to purchase the land for Benedict Institute. |
| Bennett College, North Carolina, US | Lyman Bennett | Donations from Bennett, a New York businessman, provided funds to build a permanent campus. |
| Bexley Hall (seminary), Ohio and New York, US | Nicholas Vansittart, 1st Baron Bexley | Benefactor of Kenyon College in Ohio, where Bexley Hall was founded |
| Bocconi University, Milan, Italy | Luigi Bocconi | University was founded with the help of an endowment from wealthy merchant Ferdinando Bocconi and was named for Bocconi's son, who had died in the First Italo–Ethiopian War. |
| Bowdoin College, Maine, US | James Bowdoin | Former Massachusetts governor whose son James Bowdoin III was an early benefactor of the school, which was chartered in 1794. |
| Brown University, Rhode Island, US | Family of John Brown and Nicholas Brown, Jr. | Local businessmen, the Browns were among the signers of the College of Rhode Island's original charter in 1764 and became major benefactors; it was renamed in their honor in 1804. |
| Bucknell University, Pennsylvania, US | William Bucknell | Originally the University at Lewisburg; renamed in 1886 in honor of the benefactor from Philadelphia who assisted the school during the post-Civil War recession. |
| Carleton College, Minnesota, US | William Carleton | Originally Northfield College; renamed five years after its establishment (in 1871) to honor benefactor William Carleton, who had given US$50,000 to the fledgling institution. |
| Chapman University, California, US | Charles C. Chapman | Originally called Hesperian College and later California Christian College; renamed in 1934 in honor of Chapman, the chairman of the institution's board of trustees and a principal benefactor. |
| Claflin University, South Carolina, US | William Claflin and Lee Claflin | Massachusetts Governor William Claflin and his father, Boston philanthropist Lee Claflin, provided a large part of the funds to purchase the campus for the HBCU college. |
| Clare College, Cambridge, UK | Elizabeth de Clare | Founded in 1326 as University Hall but suffered financial hardship; was refounded in 1338 as Clare Hall by an endowment from Elizabeth de Clare, a granddaughter of Edward I. |
| Clemson University, South Carolina, US | Thomas Green Clemson (1807–1888) | Clemson's will directed that most of his estate be used to establish a college to teach scientific agriculture and the mechanical arts to South Carolinians. |
| Coe College, Iowa, US | Daniel Coe | Farmer in the Catskills region of New York who pledged $1,500 toward the 1853 founding of the Cedar Rapids Collegiate Institute (later renamed in his honor). His pledge was made with the stipulation that the school be coeducational. |
| Colby College, Maine, US | Gardner Colby | Originally (in 1813) the Maine Literary and Theological Institution and later Waterville College, was renamed for Boston merchant Colby due to his financial support which helped the school survive during the American Civil War. |
| Colgate University, New York, US | William Colgate and family | Originally the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York and later Madison University, was renamed for Colgate (founder of the company that became Colgate-Palmolive) in 1890 in honor of nearly 70 years of involvement and service by the Colgate family. |
| Converse University, South Carolina, US | Dexter Edgar Converse | Cotton mill owner who was among the school's founders and made substantial contributions |
| Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, US | William Legge, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth | Large donor to and a leading trustee for the English trust established for the benefit of the college |
| Denison University, Ohio, US | William S. Denison | Local Ohio farmer who donated to the university (then Granville Theological Seminary) |
| DePauw University, Indiana, US | Washington Charles DePauw | Originally called Indiana Asbury University, renamed in 1884 in honor of DePauw's substantial donations, which totaled over $600,000 during his lifetime. |
| Dickinson College, Pennsylvania, US | John Dickinson | Signer of both the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution of the United States who was President of Pennsylvania at the time of the college's founding and who donated 500 acres (2.0 km$^2$) of land for the campus |
| Drake University, Iowa, US | Francis Marion Drake | Endowed the institution in 1881; later became governor of Iowa |
| Drew University, New Jersey, US | Daniel Drew | Financier who endowed the school (originally Drew Theological Seminary) at its founding in 1867 |
| Duke University, North Carolina, US | Washington Duke | Name changed from Trinity College to Duke University in 1924, after tobacco industrialist James B. Duke established The Duke Endowment. The name honors the donor's deceased father. |
| Eckerd College, Florida, US | Jack Eckerd | Founder of Eckerd Drugs; donated $12.5 million to Florida Presbyterian College, which was renamed in his honor in 1972 |
| Eugene Lang College, New York, US | Eugene Lang | Originally The New School for Liberal Arts; renamed in 1985 following a generous donation by philanthropist and educational visionary Lang and his wife Theresa |
| Fairleigh Dickinson University, New Jersey, US | Col. Fairleigh S. Dickinson, Sr. | co-founder of Becton Dickinson |
| Far Eastern University – Nicanor Reyes Medical Foundation, Quezon City, Philippines | Nicanor Reyes Sr. | founder of the Far Eastern University |
| Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, Massachusetts, US | Franklin W. Olin | Founder of the Olin Corporation; College's endowment is funded primarily by his F. W. Olin Foundation |
| Grinnell College, Iowa, US | Josiah Bushnell Grinnell | Congregationalist minister and later politician who funded the move of the former Iowa College to its current site in the town of Grinnell. |
| Hamline University, Minnesota, US | Leonidas Lent Hamline | Methodist Bishop who provided US$25,000 of his own money to launch the school, founded in 1854. |
| Harvard University, Massachusetts, US | John Harvard | Young clergyman whose bequest of £779, was (in 1639) the first principal donation to the new institution, his gift assured its continued operation. |
| Hofstra University, New York, US | William Hofstra | University was established on the grounds of the Hofstra estate with funds that his widow's will designated for creating a memorial to her husband. |
| Hollins University, Virginia, US | John Hollins and Ann Halsey Hollins | early benefactors |
| Howard Payne University, Texas, US | Edward Howard Payne | A large gift from Payne (brother-in-law of one of the founders) helped to establish the institution |
| Johns Hopkins University, Maryland, US | Johns Hopkins | Hopkins, who died in 1873, bequeathed $7 million for the founding of the university and Johns Hopkins Hospital. At the time, this was the largest philanthropic bequest in U.S. history, the equivalent of over $131 million in 2006. |
| Juilliard School, New York, US | Augustus Juilliard | Named for Juilliard, a textile merchant, who bequeathed a substantial amount for the advancement of music in the United States |
| Kenyon College, Ohio, US | George Kenyon, 2nd Baron Kenyon | Lord Kenyon was one of the college's earliest benefactors in 1824. Another was Lord Gambier, whose name was given to the associated village, Gambier, Ohio. |
| Kettering University, Michigan, US | Charles Kettering | Inventor, proponent of cooperative education, and an early benefactor of the school under one of its previous names. |
| King University, Tennessee, US | James King | College was originally located on land donated by Reverend King. |
| King Edward Medical University (Kemc), Lahore, Pakistan | Edward VII of the United Kingdom | Founded as Lahore Medical College, renamed King Edward Medical College after receiving assistance from the King Edward Medical Memorial Fund |
| Kotelawala Defence University, Colombo, Sri Lanka | General Sir John Kotelawala | Established on an estate donated by Kotelawala, a former Prime Minister of Ceylon |
| Université Laval [in English: Laval University], Quebec, Canada | Bishop François de Laval | First Bishop of New France |
| Lawrence University, Wisconsin, US | Amos Adams Lawrence | Philanthropist Lawrence contributed $10,000 toward the school's founding |
| Lewis University, Illinois, US | Frank J. Lewis | philanthropist who funded the construction of many of the school's buildings |
| Macalester College, Minnesota, US | Charles Macalester | Philadelphia, PA, businessman who sponsored the institution's conversion from a school to a college. |
| University of Mary Hardin–Baylor, Texas, US | Mary Hardin | One half of a married couple whose gift to what was then Baylor College for Women saved the school from closure during the Great Depression. |
| Meharry Medical College, Tennessee, US | Samuel Meharry | Meharry was a young white man who, in 1826, was aided after an accident by a family of freed slaves. Afterward, he promised to repay their help by doing "something for your race." Fifty years later, he and four brothers donated $15,000 to assist with establishment of the medical department at Central Tennessee College; that department later became Meharry Medical College. |
| Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, England | John Brookes | Brookes was the founding principal. |
| Paul Smith's College, New York, US | Apollos (Paul) Smith | Smith amassed a fortune in real estate and other businesses after starting out as a hunting guide in the Adirondacks. His son left a bequest to start a college in his name. |
| Philander Smith College, Arkansas, US | Philander Smith | Renamed from Walden Seminary in 1882 to recognize the financial contributions of Adeline Smith, the widow of Philander Smith. |
| Radcliffe College, Massachusetts, US | Ann Mowlson | Lady Ann Mowlson, née Radcliffe, established the first scholarship at Harvard University (Radcliffe's parent institution) in 1643. The college was fully incorporated into Harvard in 1999, with the campus now serving as home to the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. |
| Reed College, Oregon, US | Simeon Gannett Reed and Amanda Reed | Oregon pioneers; Amanda Reed's estate provided the endowment with which the college was founded. |
| Rhodes University, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa | Cecil Rhodes | The establishment of the university was aided by the Rhodes Trust. |
| Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Jersey, US | Robert Wood Johnson III | Originally Rutgers Medical School, received its current name in 1986. |
| Robinson College, Cambridge, England | David Robinson | British philanthropist who gave Cambridge University £17 million to establish a new college. |
| Rowan University, New Jersey, US | Henry Rowan and Betty Rowan | Formerly Glassboro State College; was renamed in 1992 after the Rowans gave $100 million to the school, at the time the largest gift to a public college. |
| Russell Sage College, New York, US | Russell Sage | |
| Rutgers University, New Jersey, US | Henry Rutgers | American Revolutionary War hero whose donations helped the college (originally called Queen's College) survive difficult financial times. |
| Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey Women's University, India | Nathibai Damodar Thackersey | Mother of Sir Vithaldas Thackersey, who made a generous contribution in her memory. |
| Spelman College, Georgia, US | Laura Spelman Rockefeller | Wife of donor John D. Rockefeller |
| Stetson University, Florida, US | John Batterson Stetson | Creator of the Stetson hat; donated generously to DeLand University, which changed its name to John B. Stetson University in 1889. |
| Stevens Institute of Technology, New Jersey, US | Edwin A. Stevens | His bequest helped to establish the institution |
| Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, India | J.R.D. Tata | |
| Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India | Sir Dorabji Tata | Established with support from the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust; trust founder Sir Dorabji Tata was influential in establishing the Tata family's industrial endeavors. |
| Thiel College, Pennsylvania, US | A. Louis Thiel | Provided initial funding for the school in 1866, donating $4,000 that he had received from an investment in the new oil industry in Titusville, Pennsylvania |
| Tufts University, Massachusetts, US | Charles Tufts | Donated the land for the campus |
| Tulane University, Louisiana, US | Paul Tulane | Tulane was converted from a public to a private university in the late 19th century with financing from the endowments of Paul Tulane and Josephine Louise Newcomb. |
| Vanderbilt University, Tennessee, US | Cornelius Vanderbilt | Provided the institution its initial $1 million endowment. |
| Voorhees University, South Carolina, US | Ralph Voorhees | The HBCU school was originally named Denmark Industrial School after its location in Denmark, South Carolina. After donations from Ralph Voorhees, a New Jersey philanthropist, it was renamed the Vorhees Industrial Institute for Colored Youths. It later was named Vorhees School and Junior College. In 1962, it was renamed Voorhees College. |
| Washington College, Maryland, US | George Washington | Founded in 1782 by William Smith with the patronage of George Washington, who consented to give his name to the college and who served five years on the Board of Visitors and Governors, before beginning his presidency of the United States |
| Washington and Lee University, Virginia, US | George Washington (and Robert E. Lee) | In 1796, while he was still President of the United States, Washington endowed what was then known as Liberty Hall Academy with $20,000, at the time the largest gift ever to a U.S. institution of higher learning. The school then became Washington Academy and later Washington College. |
| Wheaton College (Illinois), US | Warren L. Wheaton | Early donor who also was a founder of the city of Wheaton, Illinois |
| Williams College, Massachusetts, US | Ephraim Williams | Benefactor whose estate helped to found the college in 1793 |
| Wilson College (Pennsylvania), US | Sarah Wilson | First major donor to the college |
| Winthrop University, South Carolina, US | Robert C. Winthrop | Donor whose contribution was enough to rent the institution's first one-room building. |
| Wofford College, South Carolina, US | Benjamin Wofford | Methodist minister whose $100,000 bequest founded the college in 1854. |
| Yale University, Connecticut, US | Elihu Yale | English merchant, philanthropist and benefactor of the college in 1718, donating gifts worth £800, used to construct building called Yale college. |
| Young Harris College, Georgia, US | Young Harris | benefactor |
| Federico Santa María Technical University, Valparaíso, Chile | Federico Santa María | Chilean businessman and philanthropist. Because he had no descendants, he gave his entire fortune to his hometown Valparaíso for the founding of a technical and engineering school. The result of his legacy was the Federico Santa María Technical University. |

### Other institutional associations

| Institution | Namesake | Notes |
| Barnard College, New York, US | Frederick A.P. Barnard | President of Columbia College in the years prior to Barnard's founding as Columbia's sister school; was a proponent of higher education for women. |
| Bates Technical College, Tacoma, US | LaVerne H. Bates | Early director of the college |
| Cardinal Stritch University, Wisconsin, US | Samuel Stritch | Originally St. Clare College; renamed in 1946 when Stritch, who had been Archbishop of Milwaukee when the school was established within that archdiocese, became a Roman Catholic cardinal. |
| Cheikh Anta Diop University, Senegal | Cheikh Anta Diop | Senegalese historian and anthropologist who worked at the University of Dakar, which was renamed for him after his death. |
| Claremont McKenna College, California, US | Donald McKenna | Originally named Claremont Men's College for its location; the name of McKenna, one of the school's founding trustees, was added to the name when the school became coeducational in 1976 |
| Collingwood College (Durham University), England | Edward Collingwood | Mathematician who served as Chair of Council at Durham University |
| Crichton College, Tennessee, US | Dr. James B. Crichton | Established in 1941 and formerly called Mid-South Bible College, renamed in honor of this former school president and professor in 1986 |
| C. W. Post College, New York, US | Charles William Post | Breakfast cereal inventor and father of Marjorie Merriweather Post, who sold the school's campus to Long Island University. |
| Dawson College, Montréal, Quebec Canada | John William Dawson Sir William Dawson | Professor of geology and principal of McGill University (Dawson's parent institution) from 1855 to 1893 |
| Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary | Loránd Eötvös | Physicist who researched and taught in the university (then called University of Budapest), which was renamed in his honor in 1950 |
| Faulkner University, Alabama, US | James H. Faulkner | Longtime supporter and chairman of the board of trustees. |
| Furman University, South Carolina, US | Richard Furman | A founder of the South Carolina Baptist Convention whose efforts in support of Baptist missions and education led to the establishment of Furman University (and other institutions) and whose organizational concepts were eventually adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention. His son was the school's first president. |
| Hamilton College, New York, US | Alexander Hamilton | Hamilton, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, was one of the institution's first trustees. |
| Henderson State University, Arkansas, US | Charles Christopher Henderson | Early trustee of the college originally called Arkadelphia Methodist College. |
| Hendrix College, Arkansas, US | Eugene Russell Hendrix | Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, which had recently purchased the school previously named Central Collegiate Institute. |
| Kean University, New Jersey, US | Robert Winthrop Kean | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives and father of former New Jersey governor Thomas Kean. Campus site once belonged to the Kean family, including land purchased while Robert Kean was in Congress. |
| Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali Guido Carli, Rome, Italy | Guido Carli | President of the university from 1978 until his death in 1993. |
| Nicolae Testemițanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Chișinău, Moldova | Nicolae Testemițanu | Rector of the university from 1959 to 1963. |
| Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria | Obafemi Awolowo | First Nigerian premier of the Western Region of Nigeria who was also the university's founding statesman and first Chancellor. |
| Rhodes College, Tennessee, US | Peyton Nalle Rhodes | Former president of the college which had previously held names including Montgomery Masonic College, Stewart College, Southwestern Presbyterian University, and Southwestern at Memphis. |
| Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary | Ignác Semmelweis | The medical school, first established in 1769, was renamed in 1969 in honor of 19th century Hungarian physician Semmelweis, discoverer of the cause of puerperal fever, who was a professor and chairman in the institution's Faculty of Medicine |
| Seton Hall University, New Jersey, US | Elizabeth Ann Seton | Mother Seton was the first American-born Catholic saint. The university was founded in 1856 by her nephew, Archdiocese of Newark Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley, who named the institution for his aunt. |
| Sharif University, Tehran, Iran | Majid Sharif Vaghefi | Islamic martyr (1949–1975) and graduate of Aryamehr University, which was renamed as a memorial after Iran's Islamic revolution. |
| Sir George Williams University (merged with Loyola College to form the present Concordia University) Montreal, Quebec, Canada | Sir George Williams (YMCA) | British founder of the worldwide YMCA movement. Sir George Williams University originated as a night school adjunct to the Montreal YMCA, the first YMCA in North America. The downtown branch of Concordia University is still known as the Sir George Williams Campus. |
| Spalding University, Kentucky, US | Catherine Spalding | Mother Spalding was the first superior of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, an order of Catholic nuns which founded the school that evolved into today's university. |
| Trevelyan College (Durham University), England | G. M. Trevelyan | Historian who served as Chancellor of Durham University from 1950 to 1957 |
| Ustinov College (Durham University), England | Peter Ustinov | Chancellor of Durham University from 1992 to 2004 |
| Warren Wilson College, North Carolina, US | Warren Hugh Wilson | Presbyterian minister who served on the Board of Home Missions of the Presbyterian Church (US), which named the college in his honor after his death. |
| Washington and Lee University, Virginia, US | (George Washington and) Robert E. Lee | Immediately after the Civil War, Lee accepted an offer to be president of what was then Washington College, and served until his death in 1870, at which time Lee's name was added to the school. |

## Institutions named for contemporary royalty or politicians

Some educational institutions carry the names of members of royalty or political leaders who were in power at the time the institutions were established or received their present names. Some of these schools were given the names of the leaders who officially chartered them (for example, Charles University of Prague in the Czech Republic and College of William and Mary in the United States). Other institutions may have received other forms of support from their namesakes.
The following list includes both institutions named for members of royalty or politicians in power at the time the institutions received those names and institutions that were named for recently deceased royalty or politicians who may have been special supporters of the schools. Institutions named for family members of such leaders also are listed.
| Institution | Namesake | Notes |
| Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria | Ahmadu Bello | Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello, was the first premier of Northern Nigeria. |
| Cégep André-Laurendeau LaSalle, Quebec Canada. | André Laurendeau | Novelist, playwright, essay writer, journalist and politician in Quebec, Canada. |
| Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, Tennessee, United States | Austin Peay | Governor of Tennessee; died in office (in 1927) two years before school opened |
| Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheba Israel | David Ben-Gurion | School was originally University of the Negev, but was renamed after the death of Ben-Gurion, Israel's first Prime Minister, in 1973 |
| Charles University of Prague, Czech Republic | Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor | Holy Roman Emperor who authorized the establishment of the university. |
| Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India | Dhirubhai Ambani | Indian entrepreneur who founded Reliance Industries. |
| George Brown College, Toronto, Ontario, Canada | George Brown | 19th century politician and newspaper publisher and one of the Fathers of Confederation. |
| Collège Gérald-Godin, Sainte-Geneviève, Quebec, Canada | Gérald Godin | Quebec poet, journalist and politician. |
| Grey College, Durham, England | Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey | British Prime Minister at the time that Durham University was founded |
| Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran | Ruhollah Khomeini | Supreme Leader of Iran |
| MacEwan University, Edmonton, Canada | Dr. J.W. Grant MacEwan, | Author, educator, and former lieutenant governor of Alberta |
| Dr. NTR University of Health Sciences, Andhra Pradesh | N.T. Rama Rao | Famous actor in Telugu film industry and Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh when institution was founded in 1986 |
| Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Himachal Pradesh, India | Yashwant Singh Parmar | Established in 1962 as the Himachal Agricultural College and Research Institute; was named in 1985 for Parmar, popularly called "architect of Himachal Pradesh," who had been the first Chief Minister of the state and was an advocate for the Horticulture and Forestry University |
| Kim Il Sung University, Pyongyang North Korea | Kim Il Sung | Founder of Communist North Korea |
| King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia | King Fahd | First the College of Petroleum and Minerals and later the University of Petroleum and Minerals, was renamed in 1986 in honor of King Fahd, who ruled Saudi Arabia from 1982 to 2005. |
| King Faisal University, Dammam Saudi Arabia | King Faisal | Established in 1975, the same year that King Faisal was assassinated |
| Mohammed V University, Rabat, Morocco | Mohammed V of Morocco | Sultan of Morocco who became King in 1957, the year the university was established |
| Moshood Abiola University, Lagos, Nigeria | Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola | Foremost Nigerian philanthropist and politician, famous for the aborted June 12, 1993 Presidential held in Nigeria |
| Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria | Nnamdi Azikiwe | The only indigenous Governor-General of the Post Independence Nigeria. |
| University of Naples Federico II, Italy | Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor | Holy Roman Emperor who authorized the establishment of the university |
| Ural Federal University, Yekaterinburg, Russia | Boris Yeltsin | The first President of the Russian Federation (1991–1999), graduate of the university |
| Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria | Obafemi Awolowo | First premier of the old Western Region; politician, lawyer and elder statesman |
| President Ramon Magsaysay State University, Iba, Zambales, Philippines | Ramon Magsaysay | Seventh President of the Republic of the Philippines |
| Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | Prince Sultan | Member of the House of Saud; Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia from 2005 until his death in 2011 |
| Queen Maud University College, Norway | Queen Maud of Norway | In 1954 King Haakon VII gifted his late wife's memorial fund to the school. |
| Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario, Canada | Queen Victoria | The university received a royal charter (as Queen's College) from Queen Victoria in 1841. |
| Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland | Queen Victoria | The university received a royal charter from Queen Victoria in 1845. |
| Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Ranchi, Jharkhand State, India | Dr. Rajendra Prasad | First president of India |
| Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Uttar Pradesh, India | Sanjay Gandhi | Deceased son of Indira Gandhi, who was India's prime minister when the institute was established in 1983. |
| Victoria University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Queen Victoria | Founded in 1831 as Upper Canada Academy. Renamed Victoria College in 1841. Renamed Victoria University in 1884. |
| Victoria University of Manchester, Manchester, England | Queen Victoria | Founded in 1851 as Owens College. Received a royal charter from Queen Victoria in 1880 and renamed Victoria University of Manchester. Absorbed into the University of Manchester in 2004. |
| Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand | Queen Victoria | Named in 1897 on the 60th anniversary of Queen Victoria's coronation. |
| The College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia, United States | King William III and Queen Mary II of England | College was founded in 1693 by a Royal Charter issued by King William and Queen Mary |
| Zayed University, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan | First president of United Arab Emirates |

## Institutions named in honor of historical people not connected with the institution
### Religious figures

The following universities and colleges are named for people who are noted primarily for their contributions to religion, including theologians, saints, holy people, and founders of religious denominations. Most, but not all, of the institutions of higher education named for religious figures are religious institutions.
| Institution | Namesake | Notes |
| St. Anthony's College, Lahore, Pakistan | St. Anthony | Anthony of Padua was a Portuguese Catholic saint. He is known to have become the "quickest" saint in the history of the Catholic Church because he was canonized by Pope Gregory IX less than one year after his death on the 30th of May 1232. |
| Acharya Nagarjuna University, Andhra Pradesh, India | Nagarjuna | Founder of the Madhyamaka path of Mahayana Buddhism |
| Albertus Magnus College, Connecticut, US | Albertus Magnus | Medieval Roman Catholic philosopher and theologian |
| Albright College, Pennsylvania, US | Jacob Albright | Preacher who founded the Evangelical Association (later the Evangelical United Brethren Church) |
| Allen University, South Carolina, US | Bishop Richard Allen | Founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church |
| Aquinas College | St. Thomas Aquinas | Medieval Roman Catholic theologian; the name "Aquinas College" is used by several institutions of higher education around the world |
| Asbury Theological Seminary, Kentucky, US | Francis Asbury | First American bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, a predecessor to the United Methodist Church |
| Asbury University, Kentucky, US | Francis Asbury | First American bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, a predecessor to the United Methodist Church |
| Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Punjab, India | Baba Fariduddin Ganjshakar | 12th century Sufi preacher, saint of Punjab, and poet of Punjabi language |
| Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel | Meir Bar-Ilan | Leader of Religious Zionism |
| Barton College, North Carolina, US | Barton W. Stone | Founder of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ); Atlantic Christian College was renamed in his honor in 1990. |
| Bellarmine University, Kentucky, US | Robert Bellarmine | Catholic saint |
| Calvin University, Michigan, US | John Calvin | Theologian of the Protestant Reformation |
| Canisius College, New York, US | Petrus Canisius | Catholic Saint |
| DePaul University, Illinois, US | St. Vincent de Paul | Catholic Saint |
| George Fox University, Oregon, US | George Fox | Founder of the Quaker movement |
| Gonzaga University, Washington, US | Aloysius Gonzaga | Catholic saint; patron saint of youth |
| Guru Ghasidas University, Chhattisgarh, India | Guru Ghasidas | Hindu saint; founder of the Satnami sect of Hinduism |
| Guru Jambheshwar University of Science & Technology, Haryana State, India | Guru Jambheshwar | Hindu saint of the 15th century, founder and guru of the Bishnoi sect |
| Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi, India | Guru Gobind Singh | Sikh warrior, poet, and spiritual leader |
| Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Punjab, India | Guru Nanak Dev | Founder of Sikhism |
| Hatfield College (Durham University), England | Thomas Hatfield | Bishop of Durham from 1345 to 1381, considered the founder of Durham College, Oxford |
| John Carroll University, Ohio, US | John Carroll | Originally St. Ignatius College, renamed in 1923 for Carroll, the first archbishop of the Catholic Church in the United States and founder of fellow Jesuit institution Georgetown University |
| La Salle University, Pennsylvania, US | Jean-Baptiste de la Salle | Catholic saint whose work contributed to improving education |
| Le Moyne College, New York, US | Simon Le Moyne | Catholic missionary of the Society of Jesus |
| Collège Lionel-Groulx, Quebec Canada | Canon Lionel Groulx | Catholic priest, Quebec historian, editor |
| Loyola Marymount University, California, US | Saint Ignatius of Loyola | Founder of the Roman Catholic Society of Jesus (Jesuits) |
| Loyola University Chicago, Illinois, US | Saint Ignatius of Loyola | Founder of the Roman Catholic Society of Jesus (Jesuits) |
| Loyola University Maryland, US | Saint Ignatius of Loyola | Founder of the Roman Catholic Society of Jesus (Jesuits) |
| Loyola University New Orleans, Louisiana, US | Saint Ignatius of Loyola | Founder of the Roman Catholic Society of Jesus (Jesuits) |
| Luther College, Iowa, US | Martin Luther | Leader of the Protestant Reformation who founded Lutheranism |
| Cégep Marie-Victorin, Quebec, Canada | Brother Marie-Victorin | Christian Brother and botanist, founded the botanical garden in Montréal, Quebec. |
| Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Germany | Martin Luther | Leader of the Protestant Reformation who also was a professor in Wittenberg |
| Matteo Ricci College, Seattle, US | Matteo Ricci | Italian Jesuit priest and one of the founding figures of the Jesuit China missions. |
| Momoyama Gakuin University, Osaka, Japan | Saint Andrew | The school's English name is St. Andrew's University, for St. Andrew, one of the Twelve Apostles. (The Japanese name refers to its original location in an area of peach orchards.) |
| Otterbein University, Ohio, US | Philip William Otterbein | Clergyman who founded the United Brethren in Christ |
| Radboud University Nijmegen, Netherlands | Saint Radboud | Originally the Catholic University of Nijmegen, renamed in 2004 for the Radboud Foundation (named for Saint Radboud, a medieval Bishop of Utrecht), which had the goal of stimulating Roman Catholic higher education and funded the university. |
| Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires province, Argentina | Saint Andrew | Founded by Scottish immigrants in 1838 and named for the patron saint of Scotland |
| St Aidan's College (Durham University), England | Aidan of Lindisfarne | Missionary credited with restoring Christianity to Northumbria in the 7th century. |
| University of St Andrews, Scotland | Saint Andrew | Patron saint of Scotland |
| St. Angela's College, Sligo, Ireland (NUI Galway) | Saint Angela Merici | Italian religious educator and founder of the Ursuline Order |
| Université Sainte-Anne, Collège de l'Acadie, Nova Scotia, Canada | Saint Anne | The mother of the Virgin Mary |
| St Catherine's College of Education for Home Economics, Dublin, Ireland | Saint Catherine of Siena | Dominican saint (the school was run by the Dominican Order) |
| Santa Clara University, California, United States | Saint Clare | One of the first followers of Saint Francis of Assisi |
| St Chad's College (Durham University), England | St. Chad | Bishop of Mercia |
| St Cuthbert's Society (Durham University), England | St. Cuthbert | Patron Saint of Northumbria |
| Saint Francis Xavier University, Nova Scotia, Canada | St. Francis Xavier | Co-founder of the Jesuits |
| College of St Hild and St Bede (Durham University), England | St. Hild and St. Bede | Hild, Abbess of Whitby and Bede, Monk of Wearmouth and Jarrow (and the first English historian) |
| St John's College (Durham University), England | St John the Evangelist | Author to whom the Fourth Gospel is traditionally attributed |
| St. John's University, New York, US | St. John the Baptist | Forerunner and baptizer of Jesus |
| Saint Joseph's University, Pennsylvania, United States | Saint Joseph | Husband of Mary, mother of Jesus |
| St Mary's College (Durham University), England | The Blessed Virgin Mary | Mother of Jesus |
| Saint Mary's College, Indiana, US | The Blessed Virgin Mary | Mother of Jesus |
| Saint Mary's College of California, US | The Blessed Virgin Mary | Mother of Jesus |
| Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, Ireland | The Blessed Virgin Mary | Mother of Jesus |
| Saint Michael's College, Vermont, US | Saint Michael the Archangel | |
| St. Patrick's, Carlow College, Carlow, Ireland | Saint Patrick | Patron saint of Ireland |
| St Patrick's College, Maynooth, Ireland | Saint Patrick | Patron saint of Ireland |
| St. Photios Orthodox Theological Seminary, California, US | St. Photios of Constantinople | Spiritual leader who also promoted education |
| Shri Guru Gobind Singhji Institute of Engineering and Technology, Maharashtra, India | Guru Gobind Singh | Sikh warrior, poet, and spiritual leader |
| Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Kerala, India | Adi Shankara | Philosopher of Hinduism |
| Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Viswa Mahavidyalaya, Chennai, India | Chandrashekarendra Saraswati | Hindu saint known as the Sage of Kanchi (1894–1994) |
| Coláiste Stiofáin Naofa, Cork, Ireland | Saint Stephen | First Christian martyr |
| Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum), Rome, Italy | St. Thomas Aquinas | Father of the Thomistic school of philosophy and theology |
| College of Saint Thomas More, Texas, US | Thomas More | Catholic saint |
| Thomas More University, Kentucky, US | Thomas More | Catholic saint |
| Thomas More College of Liberal Arts, New Hampshire, US | Thomas More | Catholic saint |
| Wesleyan University, Connecticut, US | John Wesley | Wesleyan University is the oldest of the numerous institutions for whom Wesley (Protestant theologian who was the founder of Methodism) was namesake (see Wesleyan University (disambiguation)) |
| William Carey University, Mississippi, US | William Carey | One of the founders of the Baptist Missionary Society, considered the "father of modern missions" |
| Xavier University, Ohio, US | St. Francis Xavier | Co-founder of the Jesuits |
| Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan, Philippines | St. Francis Xavier | Co-founder of the Jesuits |
| Xavier University of Louisiana, US | St. Francis Xavier | Co-founder of the Jesuits |
| York St John University, York, England | St. John the Evangelist | Ultimately derived from St John's College, a men's teacher training college founded in 1841. |

### Shia imams

| Institution | Namesake | Notes |
| Imam Ali Officers' Academy, Tehran, Iran | Ali ibn Abi Talib | 1st Shia Imam, the military academy of Ground Forces of Islamic Republic of Iran Army |
| Imam Hossein University, Tehran, Iran | Husayn ibn Ali | 3rd Shia Imam, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps |
| Sadjad University of Technology, Mashhad, Iran | Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin | 4th Shia Imam, Private university |
| Imam Sadiq University, Tehran, Iran | Ja'far al-Sadiq | 6th Shia Imam, Private Islamic university |
| Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran | Muhammad al-Mahdi | 12th Shia Imam, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps |

### Other historical figures

Universities and colleges have been named for a diverse variety of historical figures, including national heroes, poets, prominent scientists, and political figures of the past.
| Institution | Namesake | Notes |
| Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland | Alvar Aalto | Finnish architect |
| Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University, Andhra Pradesh, India | Acharya N.G. Ranga | Indian freedom fighter and Parliamentarian; Andhra Pradesh Agricultural University was renamed for him after his death. |
| Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, Poznań, Poland | Adam Mickiewicz | Polish poet |
| Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, US | Albert Einstein | World renowned physicist; on March 15, 1953, the day following his 74th birthday, Einstein formally agreed to permit his name to be used for the first medical school to be built in New York City since 1897. |
| Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad, Pakistan | Muhammad Iqbal | National poet of Pakistan |
| Allame Tabatabayee University, Tehran, Iran | Allame Tabatabayee | Iranian Islamic cleric |
| Ambedkar Institute of Advanced Communication Technologies and Research, Delhi, India | Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar | Indian jurist, scholar and political leader who was the chief architect of the Indian Constitution, an opponent of the caste system, a Buddhist revivalist, and one of the first Untouchables to obtain a college education in India |
| Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran | Amir Kabir | Prime minister of Persia in the 19th century |
| Andrews University, Michigan, US | John Nevins Andrews | Adventist scholar who was the first officially sponsored overseas missionary for the Seventh-day Adventist Church |
| Anton Bruckner Private University, Linz, Austria | Anton Bruckner | Austrian composer |
| Antonin Scalia Law School, Virginia, US | Antonin Scalia | Established in 1972 as the International School of Law (ISL) in Washington, D.C.; merged with George Mason University in 1979 to become the George Mason University School of Law. It was renamed in July 2016 in honor of the late Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in February 2016. |
| Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece | Aristotle | Greek philosopher |
| Arturo Prat University, Chile | Arturo Prat | Chilean military hero |
| Austin College, Texas, US | Stephen F. Austin | Major figure in the history of Texas, Texas hero, known as "Father of Texas" |
| Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow, India | Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar | Indian jurist, scholar and political leader who was the chief architect of the Indian Constitution, an opponent of the caste system, a Buddhist revivalist, and one of the first Untouchables to obtain a college education in India |
| Barkatullah University, Bhopal, India | Maulana Barkatullah Bhopali | In 1988 Bhopal University was renamed for this scholar (1854–1927) who was an early advocate for Indian independence. |
| University of California, Berkeley, US | George Berkeley | Name includes its location, the city of Berkeley, California, which in turn was named for the Anglo-Irish philosopher noted for his work on Immaterialism. |
| Shahid Bhagat Singh College, Delhi, India | Bhagat Singh | Indian freedom fighter and revolutionary |
| Bharathiar University, Tamil Nadu, India | Subramania Bharathiar | Tamil poet |
| Bharathidasan University, Tamil Nadu, India | Bharathidasan | Tamil poet and author |
| Bidhan Chandra College, Asansol, West Bengal, India | Bidhan Chandra Roy | Physician and second Chief Minister of West Bengal |
| Bidhan Chandra College, Rishra, West Bengal, India | Bidhan Chandra Roy | Physician and second Chief Minister of West Bengal |
| Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswa Vidyalaya, West Bengal, India | Bidhan Chandra Roy | Physician and second Chief Minister of West Bengal |
| Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi, Jharkhand State, India | Birsa Munda | Leader in 19th-century Indian independence movement |
| Brandeis University, Massachusetts, US | Louis Brandeis | First Jewish Justice of the United States Supreme Court |
| Brock University, Ontario, Canada | Isaac Brock | British Major General Sir Isaac Brock died during the Battle of Queenston Heights in the War of 1812, near the site of the campus. |
| Brunel University, England | Isambard Kingdom Brunel | British engineer remembered for his major accomplishments in design and development of civil works |
| Bryan College, Tennessee, US | William Jennings Bryan | American lawyer, statesman, politician, and renowned public speaker, who died five days after his participation in the Scopes Trial, near the site of the future college |
| Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Germany | Carl von Ossietzky | German journalist, publisher, and pacifist, awarded the 1935 Nobel Peace Prize, 1889–1938 |
| Carlos III University, Madrid, Spain | Charles III of Spain | King of Spain, 1759–88 |
| Cayetano Heredia University, Lima, Peru | Cayetano Heredia | 19th-century Peruvian physician |
| Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica Celso Suckow da Fonseca, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Celso Suckow da Fonseca | Brazilian engineer and educator, first director of the Center |
| Champlain Regional College Quebec Canada | Samuel de Champlain | The first governor of New France. |
| Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, Uttar Pradesh, India | Chandrasekhar Azad | Indian revolutionary |
| Charles Darwin University, Northern Territory, Australia | Charles Darwin | English naturalist best known for his theory of natural selection, which forms the basis of modern evolutionary theory |
| Charles Sturt University, New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory, Australia | Charles Sturt | English explorer of Australia |
| Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Haryana State, India | Choudhary Charan Singh | Hissar Agricultural University was renamed in honor of Singh, a former Prime Minister of India. |
| Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Uttar Pradesh, India | Choudhary Charan Singh | Founded in 1966 as Meerut University, was later renamed in honor of Singh, Prime Minister of India in 1979-1980 |
| Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India | Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj | Shahu Ji was a ruler of Kolhapur who introduced reservation for downtrodden classes in his kingdom in 1902; in 2002 King George Medical College in Lucknow was also renamed in his honor |
| Chifley Business School, Adelaide, Australia | Ben Chifley | A Prime Minister of Australia |
| Christopher Newport University, Virginia, US | Christopher Newport | Captain of the ship that brought the first English settlers to Jamestown, Virginia |
| Clark Atlanta University, Georgia, US | Davis Wasgatt Clark | First president of the Freedman's Aid Society, abolitionist organization which assisted fugitive slaves |
| Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Lyon, France | Claude Bernard | French physiologist |
| Curtin University of Technology, Western Australia, Australia | John Curtin | Fourteenth Prime Minister of Australia |
| D'Annunzio University of Chieti–Pescara, Italy | Gabriele D'Annunzio | Italian writer and poet, member of the Italian Army during World War I |
| Daniel Webster College, New Hampshire, US | Daniel Webster | 19th-century American statesman |
| Davidson College, North Carolina, US | William Lee Davidson | American Revolutionary war general |
| De Montfort University, Leicester, England | Simon de Montfort | Earl of Leicester in the 13th century |
| Deakin University, Victoria, Australia | Alfred Deakin | Australia's second Prime Minister |
| Democritus University of Thrace, Greece | Democritus | Greek philosopher |
| Devi Ahilya University, Madhya Pradesh, India | Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar | Female ruler of the Malwa kingdom, India, in the 18th century |
| Douglas College, British Columbia, Canada | Sir James Douglas | Canadian Lieutenant Governor |
| Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India | Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar | Indian jurist, scholar and political leader who was the chief architect of the Indian Constitution, an opponent of the caste system, a Buddhist revivalist, and one of the first Untouchables to obtain a college education in India |
| Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Open University, Hyderabad, India | Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar | Originally Andhra Pradesh Open University, was renamed for Ambedkar in 1991. See above for information on namesake. |
| Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Agra, India | Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar | See above for information on namesake. |
| Edith Cowan University, Western Australia | Edith Cowan | First woman to be elected to an Australian Parliament |
| Emily Carr University of Art and Design, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | Emily Carr | Canadian artist and writer inspired by the first nations people and wilderness of British Columbia. |
| Emory University, Georgia, US | John Emory | American bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church |
| Emory and Henry University, Virginia, US | John Emory and Patrick Henry | American bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church and American patriot, respectively |
| Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands | Desiderius Erasmus | Dutch humanist and theologian (died 1536) |
| Fisk University, Tennessee, US | Clinton B. Fisk | Officer in the Reconstruction era Freedmen's Bureau |
| Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia | Matthew Flinders | Navigator and explorer |
| Francis Marion University, South Carolina, US | Francis Marion | American Revolutionary War hero who was nicknamed the "Swamp Fox" for successfully using guerrilla tactics to out-fox the British on swampy terrain in South Carolina |
| Universidad Francisco Marroquín, Guatemala City, Guatemala | Francisco Marroquín | first bishop of Guatemala, in the 16th century |
| Collège François-Xavier-Garneau Quebec, Quebec, Canada | François-Xavier Garneau | nineteenth-century French Canadian poet, historian, civil servant and liberal |
| Franklin & Marshall College, Pennsylvania, US | Benjamin Franklin and John Marshall | American founding father and Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 to 1835, respectively |
| Franklin College Switzerland, Lugano, Switzerland | Benjamin Franklin | American founding father who was the United States' first ambassador to Europe |
| Franklin Pierce University, New Hampshire, US | Franklin Pierce | 14th President of the United States, and the only one to date from New Hampshire. The law school, originally a private institution, became a public school in 2010 as the University of New Hampshire School of Law. |
| Franklin Pierce Law Center, New Hampshire, US | Franklin Pierce | 14th President of the United States, and the only one to date from New Hampshire. The law school, originally a private institution, became a public school in 2010 as the University of New Hampshire School of Law. |
| Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, Thuringia, Germany | Friedrich Schiller | German writer |
| Froebel College (University of Roehampton) | Friedrich Fröbel | A German pedagogue, a student of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, who laid the foundation for modern education based on the recognition that children have unique needs and capabilities. |
| Froebel College of Education, Dublin, Ireland | Friedrich Fröbel | A German pedagogue, a student of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, who laid the foundation for modern education based on the recognition that children have unique needs and capabilities. |
| Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia | Patih Gadjah Mada | Famous military leader and prime minister (mahapatih) of the 14th century Majapahit Empire |
| George Mason University, Virginia, US | George Mason | American statesman and author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights |
| The George Washington University, Washington, DC, US | George Washington | |
| Glyndŵr University, Wrexham, Wales | Owain Glyndŵr | Welsh prince who first suggested the establishment of universities throughout Wales in the early 15th century. |
| Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE), Maharashtra, India | Gopal Krishna Gokhale | Indian nationalist leader. The institute is located in the premises of the Servants of India Society, which he established in 1905. The grounds include his bungalow and a massive banyan tree under which Gokhale and M.K. Gandhi discussed political issues. |
| Gordon College, Georgia, US | General John B. Gordon | Confederate corps commander in the American Civil War; later served three terms in the U.S. Senate and two terms as Georgia Governor |
| Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Uttarakhand, India | Govind Ballabh Pant | Indian freedom fighter |
| Griffith University, Queensland, Australia | Samuel Griffith | Premier of Queensland, Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia and the main author of the Constitution of Australia. |
| Gustavus Adolphus College, Minnesota, US | Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden | King of Sweden |
| Hampden–Sydney College, Virginia, US | John Hampden & Algernon Sydney | |
| Heinrich Heine University of Düsseldorf, Germany | Heinrich Heine | German poet, born in Düsseldorf |
| Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University, Uttar Pradesh, India | Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna | Garhwal University, founded 1973, was renamed in 1989 following the death of Shri Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna, Indian statesman born in the district of Pauri Garhwal. |
| Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland | George Heriot and James Watt | |
| Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai, India | Homi J. Bhabha | Indian nuclear physicist and the chief architect of the Indian atomic energy program. |
| Howard University, Washington, DC, US | Oliver O. Howard | Union general in the American Civil War and later commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau, a U.S. federal agency that sought to help newly freed slaves during Reconstruction. |
| Huntingdon College, Alabama, US | Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon | 18th-century English religious leader who played a prominent part in the Methodist movement. The Women's College of Alabama was renamed in her honor shortly after it admitted its first male student. |
| Indira Gandhi Agricultural University, Madhya Pradesh, India | Indira Gandhi | Prime Minister of India |
| Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, India | Indira Gandhi | |
| Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi, India | Indira Gandhi | |
| Ivan Franko National University of L'viv, Ukraine | Ivan Franko | Ukrainian writer and political activist |
| Jaiprakash University, Bihar, India | Jai Prakash Narayan | Indian freedom fighter and political leader |
| James Madison University, Virginia, US | James Madison | Principal author of the United States Constitution and fourth President of the United States. The school, founded in 1908 as The State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg, first named itself after him in 1938 as Madison College, adopting its current name in 1976. |
| Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Andhra Pradesh, India | Jawaharlal Nehru | first Prime Minister of India |
| Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India | Jawaharlal Nehru | first Prime Minister of India |
| James Cook University, Queensland, Australia | James Cook | British sea captain and explorer |
| Jiwaji University, Madhya Pradesh, India | Jiwaji Rao Scindia | Last Scindia Maharaja of Ujjain and Gwalior |
| Johann Wolfgang Goethe University of Frankfurt am Main, Germany | Johann Wolfgang von Goethe | |
| Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Germany | Johann Gutenberg | |
| Johannes Kepler University of Linz, Austria | Johannes Kepler | German mathematician and astronomer |
| John Abbott College Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec Canada | Sir John Abbott | Third Prime Minister of Canada |
| John Cabot University, Italy | John Cabot | Italian navigator and explorer |
| John Jay College of Criminal Justice, US | John Jay | First Chief Justice of the United States, governor of New York |
| Josephine Butler College (Durham University), England | Josephine Butler | Victorian era feminist |
| Judson College (Alabama), US | Ann Hasseltine Judson | First American Baptist woman to serve as an overseas missionary |
| Judson University, Illinois, US | Adoniram Judson | First American Baptist man to serve as an overseas missionary |
| Kennedy-King College, Illinois, US | Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. | Founded as Woodrow Wilson Junior College in 1935 and renamed in 1969 in honor of the two leaders who had been assassinated, just eight weeks apart, in 1968 |
| King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia | Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia | |
| K.N. Toosi University of Technology, Tehran, Iran | Nasīr al-Dīn al-Tūsī | Persian scientist (1201–1274) known as a philosopher, mathematician, astronomer, theologian, physician, and prolific writer |
| Kyiv Shevchenko University, Kyiv, Ukraine | Taras Shevchenko | Ukrainian poet, artist, and humanist |
| La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia | Charles La Trobe | First Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria. Oversaw the separation from New South Wales. Had a significant input into the construction of inner Melbourne parks such as the Botanic Gardens, as well as providing leadership, prestige and support to such institutions as the Royal Melbourne Hospital, the Royal Philharmonic and the University of Melbourne. |
| Lafayette College, Pennsylvania, US | Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette | French general and American Revolutionary War hero. The school's founders were inspired by Lafayette's visit to the U.S. in 1824–25, which was ongoing when they first discussed founding a college. |
| Lalit Narayan Mithila University, Bihar State, India | Lalit Narayan Mishra | Originally Mithila University; renamed in 1975 after the assassination of Indian political leader Mishra |
| Lamar University, Texas, US | Mirabeau B. Lamar | Major figure in the history of Texas - Second president of the Republic of Texas, known as "Father of Texas Education" because of his leadership in setting aside public lands for education. |
| Lambuth University, Tennessee, US | Walter Russell Lambuth | pioneer Methodist missionary bishop |
| Lehman College, New York, US | Herbert Lehman | Governor of New York |
| Lincoln Memorial University, Tennessee, US | Abraham Lincoln | 16th President of the United States. The naming of the schools in Missouri and Pennsylvania, both founded to educate African Americans, was specifically inspired by Lincoln's signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. |
| Lincoln University (California), US | Abraham Lincoln | 16th President of the United States. The naming of the schools in Missouri and Pennsylvania, both founded to educate African Americans, was specifically inspired by Lincoln's signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. |
| Lincoln University of Missouri, US | Abraham Lincoln | 16th President of the United States. The naming of the schools in Missouri and Pennsylvania, both founded to educate African Americans, was specifically inspired by Lincoln's signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. |
| Lincoln University (Pennsylvania), US | Abraham Lincoln | 16th President of the United States. The naming of the schools in Missouri and Pennsylvania, both founded to educate African Americans, was specifically inspired by Lincoln's signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. |
| Liverpool John Moores University, England | John Moores | |
| Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia | Lachlan Macquarie | Early governor of the colony of New South Wales |
| Madurai Kamaraj University, Tamil Nadu, India | Kamaraj | Politician who was Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu |
| Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak, Haryana, India | Swami Dayananda | Indian social reformer |
| Mahatma Gandhi International Hindi University | Mahatma Gandhi | |
| Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala, India | Mahatma Gandhi | |
| Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Rohilkhand University, Uttar Pradesh, India | Jyotiba Phule | 19th century social activist who in 1848 opened India's first school for girls |
| Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India | Makhan Lal Chaturvedi | Indian freedom fighter, poet and journalist |
| Malcolm X College, Illinois, US | Malcolm X | African American civil rights activist |
| Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, Lublin, Poland | Maria Sklodowska-Curie | Polish-French physicist and chemist most famous for her pioneering research on radioactivity |
| Universidad Mariano Galvez, Guatemala City, Guatemala | Mariano Gálvez | Guatemalan political leader |
| Marquette University, Wisconsin, US | Father Jacques Marquette | French Jesuit missionary and explorer; one of the first Europeans to explore the interior of modern-day Wisconsin |
| Marshall University, West Virginia, US | John Marshall | Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 to 1835 |
| University of Mary Washington, Virginia, US | Mary Ball Washington | Founded in 1908 as The State Normal and Industrial School for Women, was renamed in 1938 in honor of the mother of George Washington |
| Massey University, New Zealand | William Massey | Former prime minister of New Zealand |
| Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad, India | Maulana Abul Kalam Azad | Muslim scholar and a leader of the Indian independence movement |
| McNeese State University, Lake Charles, Louisiana | John McNeese | Educator in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Superintendent of schools and promoter of education in the state of Louisiana. |
| Miguel Hernández University, Alicante, Spain | Miguel Hernández | Spanish poet |
| Mohan Lal Sukhadia University, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India | Mohan Lal Sukhadia | Originally Udaipur University; was renamed in 1984 in respect of Sukhadia, the architect of modern Rajasthan |
| Monash University, Australia | General John Monash | Australian civil engineer and military commander of the First World War |
| Mother Teresa Women's University, Tamil Nadu, India | Mother Teresa | Roman Catholic nun who founded the Missionaries of Charity and ministered to the poor, sick, orphaned, and dying in India and other countries. |
| Murdoch University, Western Australia | Walter Murdoch | Australian academic and essayist |
| Napier University, Edinburgh, Scotland | John Napier | Mathematician who was born on the site of the modern university |
| Narendra Dev University of Agriculture and Technology, India | Acharya Narendra Deva | A leading theorist of India's Congress Socialist Party; the school was named in his honor in 1975. |
| Naresuan University, Thailand | King Naresuan the Great | King of Siam (now Thailand) from 1590 to 1605 |
| National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan, Republic of China | Cheng Cheng-kung (Koxinga) | Military leader at the end of the Chinese Ming Dynasty, a leader of the anti-Qing movement opposing the Qing Dynasty, and a general who defeated the Dutch to claim Taiwan in 1662. |
| National Chung Cheng University, Taiwan, Republic of China | Chiang Kai-shek | Chinese military and political leader who assumed the leadership of the Kuomintang after the death of Sun Yat-sen in 1925 and led the national government of the Republic of China from 1928 to 1975. |
| National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece | John Capodistria | First head of state of independent Greece |
| Nelson Mandela University, South Africa | Nelson Mandela | First president of post-apartheid South Africa |
| Newman University, Birmingham, West Midlands, UK | John Henry Newman | Englishman who served as a Roman Catholic cardinal |
| Newman University (Kansas), Kansas, US | John Henry Newman | Englishman who served as a Roman Catholic cardinal |
| Netaji Subhas Open University, West Bengal, India | Subhas Chandra Bose | Prominent leader of the Indian Independence Movement |
| Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland | Nicolaus Copernicus | Astronomer, born there in 1473 |
| Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Anambra State, Nigeria | Nnamdi Azikiwe | A champion of Nigerian independence who became the nation's first president |
| Oberlin College, Ohio, US | Jean-Frédéric Oberlin | Alsatian clergyman and philanthropist remembered for his efforts to improve the lives of his impoverished parishioners |
| Oglethorpe University, Georgia, US | James Oglethorpe | Englishman who established the colony of Georgia |
| Osmania Medical College, Hyderabad, India | Osman Ali Khan | 7th Nizam of the kingdom Hyderabad |
| Otto von Guericke University of Magdeburg, Germany | Otto von Guericke | Germany physicist of the 17th century |
| University of Paris V: René Descartes, France | René Descartes | French philosopher, mathematician, scientist, and writer |
| University of Paris VI: Pierre et Marie Curie, France | Pierre Curie, Marie Curie | Physicists |
| University of Paris VII: Denis Diderot, France | Denis Diderot | French philosopher |
| Patrick Henry College, Purcellville, VA | Patrick Henry | One of the Founding Fathers of the United States, first Governor of Virginia, and quoted for his famous phrase: "Give me liberty or give me death!" Patrick Henry is a Christian institution with the mission of training students through a classical liberal arts curriculum and apprenticeship methodology to impact the world 'for Christ and for Liberty'. |
| Periyar University, Tamil Nadu, India | Periyar Ramasami | Indian social reformer and politician |
| President Ramon Magsaysay State University, Iba, Zambales, Philippines | Ramon Magsaysay | Seventh President of the Republic of the Philippines |
| Prince of Songkhla University, Thailand | Mahidol Adulyadej | Prince Father Mahidol Adulyadej, Prince of Songkhla (1892–1929) was the father of King Ananda Mahidol (Rama VIII) and King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) and is regarded as the father of modern medicine and public health of Thailand. |
| Pompeu Fabra University, Catalonia | Pompeu Fabra | Pompeu Fabra was a Catalan linguist considered the main author of the normative reform of contemporary Catalan grammar. |
| Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan | Mohammad Ali Jinnah | Quaid-e-Azam (Urdu: قائد اعظم — "Great Leader") is an honorific title for Jinnah, the politician and leader of the All India Muslim League who founded Pakistan and served as its first Governor-General. |
| Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, Scotland | Queen/Saint Margaret of Scotland | Founded in 1875, named for the queen of Scotland who died in 1093 |
| Rabindra Bharati University, West Bengal, India | Rabindranath Tagore | Bengali poet and philosopher |
| Rajarshi Shahu College of Engineering, Pune, India | Rajarshi Shahu | Maharaja of the Indian princely state of Kolhapur between 1884 and 1922. |
| Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Karnataka, India | Rajiv Gandhi | |
| Ramon Llull University, Catalonia | Ramon Llull | Medieval Catalan philosopher and writer, who wrote the first major work of Catalan language literature, is sometimes considered a pioneer of computation theory, and whose work anticipated by several centuries prominent theoretical work on voting systems. |
| Randolph–Macon College, Virginia, US | John Randolph and Nathaniel Macon | When the Virginia Conference of the Methodist Church established the college in 1830, it named it for two non-Methodists to dispel the notion that the school would be sectarian. The non-Methodist namesakes were Randolph, a Virginia statesman, and Macon, a North Carolina statesman. |
| Randolph College (Randolph–Macon Woman's College before July 2007), Virginia, US | John Randolph | Virginia statesman |
| Rani Durgavati University, Madhya Pradesh, India | Rani Durgavati | Originally the University of Jabalpur; was renamed in 1983 for the Gond dynasty queen of Garha Mandla (1524–1564) |
| Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, Scotland | Robert Gordon | 17th century merchant and philanthropist. |
| Robert Morris University, Illinois, US | Robert Morris | Merchant known as the "Financier of the American Revolution"; signer of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and Constitution. |
| Robert Morris University, Pennsylvania, US | Robert Morris | Merchant known as the "Financier of the American Revolution"; signer of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and Constitution. |
| Roger Williams University, Rhode Island, US | Roger Williams | Founder of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, which would become the state of Rhode Island, and first major American proponent of religious freedom and church–state separation |
| Roosevelt University, Illinois, US | Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt | 32nd President of the United States and his wife, a civil rights advocate in her own right. The school was originally named Thomas Jefferson College, but renamed after Franklin died two weeks later. |
| Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, Illinois, US | Rosalind Franklin | British biophysicist and X-ray crystallographer who made critical contributions to the understanding of the fine molecular structures of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), RNA, viruses, coal, and graphite |
| University of Rovira i Virgili, Catalonia | Antoni Rovira i Virgili | Politician and journalist who was president of the regional parliament of Catalonia in exile after the Spanish Civil War |
| Toronto Metropolitan University (former Ryerson University), Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Egerton Ryerson | Nineteenth century educator, politician, and Methodist minister, known as the father of Ontario's public school system |
| Sam Houston State University, Texas, US | Sam Houston | Major figure in the history of Texas—leader of the Texas Revolution, first and third President of the Republic of Texas, U.S. Senator, and 7th Governor of Texas |
| Sardar Patel University, Gujarat, India | Vallabhbhai Patel | Political and social leader of India who played a major role in the country's struggle for independence |
| Schiller International University, US-based | Friedrich Schiller | |
| Shahid Beheshti University and Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Iran | Mohammad Hosseiny Beheshti | The former National University of Iran was renamed in 1983 in honor of Beheshti, a leader of Iran's Islamic revolution who is called Shahid (martyr) after his 1981 death in a bomb explosion. |
| Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir, India | Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah | Kashmiri leader who is popularly known as Sher-e-Kashmir (Lion of Kashmir) |
| Shivaji University, Maharashtra, India | Shivaji | Founder of the Maratha empire in 1674; considered a hero in Maharashtra |
| Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada | Simon Fraser | Fur trader and explorer who charted much of what is now British Columbia |
| Simón Bolívar University, Caracas, Venezuela | Simón Bolívar | leader of several independence movements throughout South America |
| Sri Krishnadevaraya University | Krishnadevaraya | Sri Krishnadevaraya, ruler of the Vijayanagara empire in the 16th century, was a patron of learning and the arts. |
| Stephen F. Austin State University, Texas, US | Stephen F. Austin | Major figure in the history of Texas - Texas hero, known as "Father of Texas" |
| Sul Ross State University, Texas, US | Lawrence Sullivan "Sul" Ross | 19th Governor of Texas and later president of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, now known as Texas A&M University |
| Suranaree University of Technology, Thailand | Thao Suranaree | Local heroine of Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, who is credited with saving the city from the rebel army during King Anouvong's rebellion of 1827 |
| Swami Ramanand Teerth Marathwada University, Maharashtra, India | Swami Ramanand Teerth | Educator and social activist remembered for his role in the Hyderabad liberation struggle. |
| Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University, Tamil Nadu, India | Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar | Indian jurist, scholar and political leader who was the chief architect of the Indian Constitution |
| The Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University, Tamil Nadu, India | M.G. Ramachandran | Namesake was the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu |
| Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | Thomas Jefferson | Author of the Declaration of Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, leader of the Jeffersonian Democratic-Republicans and America's third president |
| Torrens University Australia, Adelaide, Australia | Robert Torrens | Former Premier of South Australia |
| Truman State University, Missouri, US | Harry S. Truman | United States president |
| Tunku Abdul Rahman University College, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | Tunku Abdul Rahman | First Chief Minister of Malaysia |
| Underwood International College, Seoul, South Korea | Horace Grant Underwood | American missionary and founder of Yonsei University in Korea |
| Universidade Estadual Paulista "Júlio de Mesquita Filho", São Paulo, Brazil | Júlio de Mesquita Filho | Brazilian influential publisher, founder and owner of the O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper |
| Universidade Estácio de Sá, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Estácio de Sá | Portuguese knight and military officer who was the founder of the city of Rio de Janeiro. |
| Universidad José Cecilio del Valle, Tegucigalpa, Honduras | José Cecilio del Valle | Honduran intellectual, nicknamed "the Wise" who drafted and wrote the Act of Independence of Central America. |
| Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Perak & Selangor, Malaysia | Tunku Abdul Rahman | First Chief Minister of Malaysia |
| Uttar Pradesh Rajarshi Tandon Open University, Uttar Pradesh, India | Rajarshi Tandon | Indian independence fighter |
| Washington & Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, US | George Washington and Thomas Jefferson | American founding fathers and the nation's first and third presidents (respectively) |
| Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, US | George Washington | Originally named for one of its founders, Unitarian minister William Greenleaf Eliot, who did not want the institution to bear his name; renamed in 1854 for its original location on Washington Avenue in Downtown St. Louis (the avenue in turn was named for George Washington) |
| Whitman College, Washington, US | Marcus and Narcissa Whitman | Pioneer Christian missionaries in Walla Walla, Washington, (site of the college) who were murdered by the Cayuse and Umatilla |
| Whittier College, California, US | John Greenleaf Whittier | American poet |
| Wilfrid Laurier University, Ontario, Canada | Wilfrid Laurier | Waterloo Lutheran University dropped its church affiliation in 1973, becoming a public institution named for an earlier Prime Minister of Canada |
| Wilkes University, Pennsylvania, US | John Wilkes | |
| William Paterson University, New Jersey, US | William Paterson | |
| Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University, Maharashtra, India | Yashwantrao Chavan | Chief Minister of Maharashtra and subsequently Deputy Prime Minister of India |
| Vesalius College, Brussels, Belgium | Andreas Vesalius | Physician who was the founder of modern anatomy |
| Vidyasagar University, West Bengal, India | Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar | 19th-century academic, philosopher, educator, printer, entrepreneur, writer, translator, reformer and philanthropist |
| Visweswaraiah Technological University, Karnataka, India | Mokshagundam Visvesvarayya | Indian engineer and statesman |
| Walters State Community College, Tennessee, US | Herbert S. Walters | Banker and politician who served for a short time in the U.S. Senate |
| Walter Sisulu University for Technology and Science, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa | Walter Sisulu | South African anti-apartheid activist and member of the African National Congress |
| Wright State University, Ohio, US | The Wright brothers | Named for the inventors of the first successful airplane, who lived in nearby Dayton |