Forename of many a Pole (3)
I believe the answer is:
dan
'forename' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are singular nouns.
Perhaps there's an association between them I don't understand?
'many a pole' is the wordplay.
'many' becomes 'd' ().
'pole' becomes 'n' (abbreviation for North, as in North Pole).
'd'+'a'+'n'='DAN'
'of' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for dan that I've seen before include "book (abbreviated version)" , "Level of competence in judo" , "A Desperate cartoon character" , "Person proficient in judo" , "degree of proficiency in judo, say?" .)