We thank Thomas and Gunasekera for their interest in our article [1], the premise of which is to celebrate the achievements of pioneering women in ophthalmology.

Empirical evidence demonstrates that eponym extinction overtook new eponym coinage in the 1980s, and the trend continues [2]. Eponym prevalence in journal article titles has been in decline since the early 1990s [2]; the letter from Thomas and Gunasekera affirms this observation with ophthalmic eponyms as well. These trends are in part due to the elimination of eponyms associated with Nazi physicians. Additionally, the eponymous David Cogan himself and others have called for reduced eponym coinage and use in favor of descriptive terms [3].

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