This paper aims to examine referential metonymy from a pragmatic perspective. Referential metonymy differs from other types in that it is used to make reference, and is a typical case of speaker’s reference rather than semantic reference. To be more specific, referential metonymy is not about the meaning, but about what the speaker intends to refer to by using words. The paper argues that this phenomenon has three pragmatic motivations: for the convenience of naming, for the sake of effective communication through abbreviated linguistic forms, and for the innovative use of words. This study claims to provide some insight into the online comprehension of metonymy.