name-dropping vs mention

name-dropping and mention both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
name-dropping	Yes	No	No	No
mention	Yes	No	Yes	No

As nouns, mention is a hypernym of name-dropping; that is, mention is a word with a broader meaning than name-dropping:

name-dropping: the practice of casually mentioning important people in order to impress your listener
mention: a remark that calls attention to something or someone

Other hypernyms of name-dropping include reference.

name-dropping (noun)	mention (noun)
the practice of casually mentioning important people in order to impress your listener	an official recognition of merit
	a remark that calls attention to something or someone
	a short note recognizing a source of information or of a quoted passage