Purpose. The article is devoted to the issue of studying poetonyms as a vocabulary of nominal lexemes in Russian artistic texts. The subject of analysis is the proper names as an integral component in the semantic-stylistic system of the authors of epigrams. The researcher aims to disclose the role of the poetonyms in the organization of the semantic space of the Russian epigrams. Methodology. The main method of investigation is the narrative one with the direct observation and interpretation of linguistic facts. It makes it possible to show the dependence of choosing poetonyms on the purpose of the epigram as a genre. Results. As a result of the study, the author makes a semantic analysis of the proper names in the epigrams and shows the evolution of the genre in using poetonyms, i.e., generalized names of persons with certain moral flaws are replaced by punning games with real names and surnames of addressees. Practical implications. The results of the study can be applied in the practice of teaching stylistics, history of the Russian literary language, special courses on the language of artistic and verbal genres, linguistic analysis of the literary texts.