Am I using "namesake" correctly?

I am writing an essay about (among other things) Gutenberg's printing press and Project Gutenberg. I want to say something along the lines of "Gutenberg's press was so popular that current things are named after him." I tried the following. Am I using namesake correctly?

As evidenced ahead, Gutenberg’s invention was so popular that he is still a popular namesake.

I want to keep namesake in there because I think it sounds cool.

Solution 1:

You might like to use 'eponym' though strictly that refers to the use of a name as a word: 'Project Gutenberg is named after the eponymous printer'. Still pretty cool.