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Amatronymic is apersonal name or a parental name based on thegiven name of one's mother, grandmother, or any female ancestor. It is the female equivalent of apatronymic. Around the world,matronymic surnames are far less common thanpatronymic surnames. In some cultures in the past, matronymic last names were often given to children of unwed mothers. Additionally, if a woman was especially well known or powerful, her descendants might adopt a matronym based on her name. A matronymic is a derived name, as compared to amatriname, which is an inherited name from a mother's side of the family, and which is unchanged.
The wordmatronymic is first attested in English in 1794 and originates in theGreek μήτηρmētēr "mother" (GEN μητρόςmētros whence thecombining form μητρo-mētro-),[1] ὄνυμαonyma, a variant form of ὄνομαonoma "name",[2] and the suffix-ικός -ikos, which was originally used to form adjectives with the sense "pertaining to" (thus "pertaining to the mother's name"). The Greek word μητρωνυμικόςmētrōnymikos[3] was then borrowed into Latin in a partially Latinised form (Greekmētēr, dialectallymātēr, corresponds to Latinmāter),[4] asmātrōnymicus. These words were a source for coining the Englishmatronymic as the female counterpart topatronymic (first attested in English in 1612).[5] Whereas theOxford English Dictionary records an English nounpatronym infree variation with the nounpatronymic, it does not, however, record a corresponding nounmatronym.
More rarely, English writers use forms based wholly on Greek: the nounmetronym (first attested in 1904); and the noun and adjectivemetronymic (first attested in 1868).[6] These are, for example, the forms used in the 2016The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland.[7] Speakers are in practice likely to use female-line name, or name of "his/her mother" to be both specific and avoid use of technical terms.
Some matrilineal communities in South and North-East India, like theNairs,Bunts andKhasi, have family names which are inherited from their mother. Matronymic names are common inKerala.[8] Daughters take the names of their mothers as the second part of their name.[citation needed]
SomeMinangkabau people use this naming system; many people, however, have no surname at all. People ofEnggano Island also use a matronymic system. They also have family name/surname (marga).
In July 2023, theConstitutional Court of Kyrgyzstan decided that adults may have the right to use a matronymic instead of the traditional patronymic on their official documents.[9][10][11] After pushback from conservative groups, the court reversed its decision in November.[12]
In medieval times, anillegitimate child of unknown parentage would sometimes be termedibn Abihi, "son of his father" (notablyZiyad ibn Abihi.)The bookKitāb man nusiba ilá ummihi min al-shu‘arā’ (the book of poets who are named with the lineage of their mothers) by the 9th-century author Muḥammad ibn Ḥabīb is a study of the matronymics of Arabic poets.[13] There exist other examples of matronymics in historical Arabic.[14][15]
In theQur'an, Jesus (Isa in Arabic) is consistently termedIsa ibn Maryam (Jesus son of Mary).[a] However, the historical Jesus was not an Arabic speaker,[b] and it is unlikely that he would have used a matronymic.[c]
While mostMongolian names today arepatronymic, some Mongolians are known to be matronymic. This could be due to, for example, anabsence of the father such as in the case ofPunsalmaagiin Ochirbat, the first elected president of Mongolia.
Filipino names legally use themaiden name of the child’s mother as amiddle name as opposed to the Anglo-American use of additional given names. Filipino children born tounwed mothers, if not legally claimed by the father nor adopted by anyone else, automatically bear their mother’s maiden name as their surname and sometimes her middle name as her siblings would.
Amis people's daughter names are followed by the mother's name, while a son's name is followed by his father's name.Seediqs often get to choose which of their parents’ name to go after their own.
Although many English matronyms were given to children of unwed mothers, it was not unusual for children of married women to also use a matronymic surname. For instance, it was traditional during the Middle Ages forchildren whose fathers died before their births to use a matronym, and it was not unheard of for children to be given a matronym if the father's name was foreign, difficult to pronounce, or had an unfortunate meaning. A child of a strong-minded woman might also take a matronym, as might a child whose name would otherwise be confused with that of a cousin or neighbour. There are even instances where royal houses used matronymics to strengthen claims to the English throne – for example, Empress Matilda's eldest son was known asHenry FitzEmpress (-fitz meaning "son of" from Latinfilius). Common English matronyms include Madison, Beaton, Tiffany, Parnell, Hilliard, Marriott, Ibbetson, Babbs, and Megson.[16]
In the old Finnish system, women were standardly given matronyms, while men were given patronyms, for example, Ainontytär (female) or Pekanpoika (male). Since the 19th century the system of inherited family names has been used, however, and today nearly all Finns have inherited surnames.
Family names derived from matronyms are found inFrance, especially inNormandy: Catherine, Marie, Jeanne, Adeline. In medieval Normandy (Duchy of Normandy), a matronym might be used when the mother was of greater prominence than the father or the basis for a claim of inheritance, such as in the cases ofHenry FitzEmpress andRobert FitzWimarc.
SomeIcelandic people, likeHeiðar Helguson, have matronyms.[17] A particularity by the Norse name of the trickster among the revered ofÅsgard is that Loki got a matronymic,Loki Laufeyjarson. His father Fárbauti is associated with Wild Fire, and his mother, the leaves of the trees, the mother of all figs and birches, as in Askr and Embla.
Matronymics appear in medieval Celtic tales such asCath Maige Tuired and the Fourth Branch of theMabinogi (the children ofDôn). For instance the famous mythological King of Ulster,Conchobar mac Nessa, is named after his motherNess.[18]
Matronymics are accepted in the Netherlands but are generally written as given names on identity cards.[19]
Family names derived from matronyms are also found inRomania, especially in the region ofMoldavia. Examples include: Aioanei, Ababei, Acatrinei, Ailincăi.
Although far less common than patronymic surnames, matronymic surnames are widespread both in Serbia and in neighboring countries. Examples include surnames such as Katić, Sinđelić, Nedić, Marić, Višnjić, Janjić, Sarić, Miličić, Milenić, Natalić, Zorić, Smiljić, Anđelić and many others. Sometimes it is difficult to ascertain if name of a specific family is patronymic or matronymic considering many Serbian names have both a male and female version (for example, the surname Miljanić could come from both m.- Miljan and f.- Miljana). Cases where widows had to become heads of households were not uncommon during the 18th and 19th centuries, and when surnames were first standardized in Serbia in 1851 it was decided they would be based on the names of the eldest living heads of households, which in some cases were women. People who didn't know their father well would also take matronymic surnames, with notable cases being the hero of the First Serbian UprisingStevan Sinđelić, who took that surname in honor of his mother Sinđelija.
In Ukraine, the suffix-chak interprets as "daughter of" implying an original history of matronyms (similar to American last names ending in 'son' [Davidson, Williamson]). In Ukraine all last names ending with -chak, such as Rataichak, Katerchak, Alberchak, Bartchak, Shchak, etc... are matronyms. The practice of taking a mother's name ended in the mid 19th century, but the matriarch lines are still traced. Other historical examples of matronyms in Ukraine include: Olenych, Katerynchuk, Khyvrych.Oleg Yaroslavich, 12th century prince of Halych, was known as Oleg Nastasyich during his life to distinguish his claim from that of his half-brother Volodymyr.
Most characters in theBible are referred to with a patronymic. However,Abishai,Joab, andAsahel – the sons ofZeruiah, sister or stepsister ofKing David – are invariably referred to as "Sons of Zeruiah" and the name of their father remains unknown. Also the Biblical JudgeShamgar is referred to with the matronymic "Son ofAnat".[citation needed]
There are indications of a Jewish history of matronymic names. Specifically, in East European Jewish society, there appeared various matronymic family names such asRivlin (fromRivka/Rebecca),Sorkin (fromSarah),Zeitlin (from Zeitl),Rochlin (fromRachel),Feiglin (fromFeige), Dworkin (from Dvora), and others.[20] In certain Jewish prayers and blessings, matronyms are used, e.g., "Josephben (son of) Miriam".[citation needed] Specifically, when people are asked to pray urgently for the recovery of a person whose life is in danger, the endangered person's mother is named, the normal formula being "We call upon you to pray for the recovery of "[person's name], son/daughter of [mother's name]".
In the 18th century, numerous European nations, such as theHoly Roman Empire, passed laws and issued decrees which mandated that Jews adopt consistent, legal surnames. While this applied to all Jews regardless of gender, for many, their surname came from their mothers, and not their fathers. As a result, a large number of today's survivingAshkenazi surnames can be traced to a matrilineal ancestor rather than the more globally common trend of surnames being passed between male ancestors and their male descendants. Nevertheless, these surnames weren't matronymic in a strict sense. They are what is known as amatriname, since these particular cases don't derive family names from a mother'sforename, instead opting to do so from their surnames. The pattern even precluded instances where a wife would legally adopt the surname of her husband; children would still retain their mother's maiden name as their own surname. The trend was in decline by the early 20th century, however; the 1910Austro-Hungarian Jewish Census ofTarnopol recorded around 2,000 Jewish families, only 13 of whom possessed a mark ofrecte indicating a legal surname adopted from a mother's maiden name.[21]