View source for Matronymic

{{Short description|Personal name component related to the mother}}
{{confused|Metonymy}}
{{for|a family name inherited from one's mother (and maternal grandmother, etc.)|Matriname}}
{{More citations needed|date=July 2022}}
A '''matronymic''' is a [[personal name|personal name or a parental name]] based on the [[given name]] of one's mother, grandmother, or any female ancestor. It is the female equivalent of a [[patronymic]]. Around the world, '''matronymic surnames''' are far less common than [[patronymic surname]]s. 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 a [[matriname]], which is an inherited name from a mother's side of the family, and which is unchanged.

==Terminology of English==

The word ''matronymic'' is first attested in English in 1794 and originates in the [[Greek language|Greek]] μήτηρ ''mētēr'' "mother" (<small>[[Genitive case|GEN]]</small> μητρός ''mētros'' whence the [[combining form]] μητρo- ''mētro''-),<ref>{{LSJ|mh/thr|μήτηρ|ref}}.</ref>  ὄνυμα ''onyma'', a variant form of ὄνομα ''onoma'' "name",<ref>{{LSJ|o)/noma|ὄνομα|shortref}}.</ref> and the suffix [[wikt:-ικός|-ικός]] -''ikos'', which was originally used to form adjectives with the sense "pertaining to" (thus "pertaining to the mother's name"). The Greek word μητρωνυμικός ''mētrōnymikos''<ref>{{LSJ|mhtrwnumiko/s|μητρωνυμικός|shortref}}</ref> was then borrowed into Latin in a partially Latinised form (Greek ''mētēr'', dialectally ''mātēr'', corresponds to Latin ''mater''),<ref>{{L&S|mater|ref}}</ref> as ''matronomicus''. These words were a source for coining the English ''matronymic'' as the female counterpart to ''patronymic'' (first attested in English in 1612).<ref>"matronymic, n. and adj.". OED Online, 3rd edition. March 2018. Oxford University Press.</ref> Whereas the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' records an English noun ''patronym'' in [[free variation]] with the noun ''patronymic'', it does not, however, record a corresponding noun ''matronym''.

More rarely, English writers use forms based wholly on Greek: the noun ''metronym'' (first attested in 1904); and the noun and adjective ''metronymic'' (first attested in 1868).<ref>"metronymic, n. and adj."; "metronym, n.". ''OED Online'', 3rd edn. March 2018. Oxford University Press.</ref> These are, for example, the forms used in the 2016 ''The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland''.<ref>''The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland'', ed. by Patrick Hanks, Richard Coates, Peter McClure (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016).</ref> 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.

==Asia==
===India===
Some matrilineal communities in South and North-East India, like the [[Nairs]], [[Bunt (community)|Bunts]] and [[Khasi_people|Khasi]], have family names which are inherited from their mother. Matronymic names are common in [[Kerala]].<ref>[http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/2594/12/12_chapter%203.pdf Mother's name becoming common in naming conventions in Kerala (page 201)], shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in; accessed May 18, 2017.</ref> Daughters take the names of their mothers as the second part of their name.{{cn|date=May 2017}}

===Indonesia===
Some [[Minangkabau people]] use this naming system; many people, however, have no surname at all. People of [[Enggano Island]] also use a matronymic system. They also have family name/surname ({{lang|id|marga}}).

===Kyrgyzstan===
In July 2023, the [[Constitutional Court of Kyrgyzstan]] decided that adults may have the right to use a matronymic instead of the traditional patronymic on their official documents.<ref>{{cite news |title=Жителям Кыргызстана разрешили использовать матчество вместо отчества |url=https://meduza.io/news/2023/07/03/zhitelyam-kyrgyzstana-razreshili-ispolzovat-matchestvo-vmesto-otchestva |trans-title=Residents of Kyrgyzstan permitted to use matronymic instead of patronymic |access-date=3 July 2023 |work=[[Meduza]] |language=ru}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Podol'skaya |first=Dar'ya |title=Ошибка в трактовке. Конституционный суд разъясняет свое решение по матчеству |trans-title=Error in interpretation. Constitutional court clarifies its decision about matronymics |url=https://24.kg/vlast/269463_oshibka_vtraktovke_konstitutsionnyiy_sud_razyyasnyaet_svoe_reshenie_pomatchestvu/ |access-date=3 July 2023 |work=24.kg |date=3 July 2023 |language=ru-RU}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Kyrgyz court allows 'matronymics' in a surprise nod to women's rights |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/kyrgyz-court-allows-matronymics-surprise-nod-womens-rights-2023-07-04/ |access-date=5 September 2023 |work=[[Reuters]] |date=4 July 2023 |language=en}}</ref> After pushback from conservative groups, the court reversed its decision in November.<ref>{{cite news |title=В Кыргызстане снова запретили брать матчество вместо отчества |url=https://www.sibreal.org/a/v-kyrgyzstane-snova-zapretili-brat-matchestvo-vmesto-otchestva/32679596.html |access-date=7 December 2023 |work=Сибирь Реалии |date=10 November 2023 |language=Russian}}</ref>

=== Arabia ===
 
The book ''Kitāb 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.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.2307/594132|publisher=Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 62, No. 3 (September 1942), pp. 156-71|title=Muḥammad Ibn Ḥabīb's "Matronymics of Poets"|last=Levi della Vida|first= Giorgio|pages=156–71|author2=Ḥabīb, MuḥAmmad Ibn|journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society|volume=62|issue=3|year=1942|jstor=594132|last3=Habib|first3=Muhammad Ibn}}</ref> There exist other examples of matronymics in historical Arabic.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://atensubmissions.nexiliscom.com/6-2006LoP.shtml|title=Brickbat's - May 2006 LoP Page|first=Linda M.|last=Miku|website=atensubmissions.nexiliscom.com|access-date=18 May 2017}}</ref><ref>Forster, Charles. ''The Historical Geography of Arabia'', Volume 2, University of Michigan, Duncan and Malcolm, Page 27</ref>

===Mongolia===
While most [[Mongolian names]] today are [[Patronymic#Mongolia|patronymic]], some Mongolians are known to be matronymic. This could be due to, for example, an [[Father absence|absence of the father]] such as in the case of [[Punsalmaagiin Ochirbat]], the first elected president of Mongolia.

===Philippines===
[[Filipino name]]s legally use the [[maiden name]] of the child’s mother as a [[middle name]] as opposed to the Anglo-American use of additional given names. Filipino children born to [[unwed mother]]s, 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.

===Taiwan===
[[Amis people]]'s daughter names are followed by the mother's name, while a son's name is followed by his father's name. [[Seediq people|Seediqs]] often get to choose which of their parents’ name to go after their own.

===Vietnam===
Some [[Vietnamese names]] also function this way, as less of a "tradition" than a style or trend, in which the mother's maiden name{{citation needed|date=May 2022|reason=There's no such thing as a Vietnamese "maiden name". Ethnically Vietnamese women do not change their family names.}} is the child's middle name.

==Europe==

===England===
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 for [[posthumous birth|children 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 as [[Henry FitzEmpress]] (-[[fitz]] meaning "son of" from Latin ''filius''). Common English matronyms include Madison, Beaton, Tiffany, Parnell, Hilliard, Marriott, Ibbetson, Babbs, and Megson.<ref>Bowman, William Dodgson. ''The Story of Surnames''. London, George Routledge & Sons, Ltd., 1932. No ISBN.</ref>

===Finland===
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.

===France===
Family names derived from matronyms are found in [[France]], especially in [[Normandy]]: 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 of [[Henry II of England|Henry FitzEmpress]] and [[Robert FitzWimarc]].

===Iceland===
{{see|Icelandic name}}
Some [[Iceland]]ic people, like [[Heiðar Helguson]], have matronyms.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_life/?cat_id=16571&ew_0_a_id=302030|title=In the Name of the Father|first=Iceland|last=Review|date=5 March 2008|access-date=18 May 2017}}</ref> A particularity by the Norse name of the trickster among the revered of [[Åsgard]] 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.

===Ireland and Wales===
Matronymics appear in medieval Celtic tales such as ''[[Cath Maige Tuired]]'' and the Fourth Branch of the [[Mabinogi]] (the children of [[Dôn]]). For instance the famous mythological King of Ulster, [[Conchobar mac Nessa]], is named after his mother [[Ness (Irish mythology)|Ness]].<ref>[[Thomas Kinsella]] (translator), ''The Táin'', Oxford University Press, 1969, p. 3</ref>

===Netherlands===
Matronymics are accepted in the Netherlands but are generally written as given names on identity cards.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.meertens.knaw.nl/nvb/naam/eindigtop/zoon|title=NVB : voornaam eindigt op 'zoon'|first=Meertens|last=Instituut|website=www.meertens.knaw.nl|access-date=18 May 2017}}</ref>

===Romania===
Family names derived from matronyms are also found in [[Romania]], especially in the region of [[Moldavia]]. Examples include: Aioanei, Ababei, Acatrinei, Ailincăi.

===Serbia===
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 Uprising [[Stevan Sinđelić]], who took that surname in honor of his mother Sinđelija.

===Ukraine===
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.

==Other==

===Jewish traditions===
Most characters in the [[Bible]] are referred to with a patronymic. However, [[Abishai (Bible)|Abishai]], [[Joab]], and [[Asahel]] – the sons of [[Zeruiah]], sister or stepsister of [[King David]] – are invariably referred to as "Sons of Zeruiah" and the name of their father remains unknown. Also the Biblical Judge [[Shamgar]] is referred to with the matronymic "Son of [[Anat]]".{{cn|date=May 2017}}

There are indications of a Jewish history of matronymic names. Specifically, in East European Jewish society, there appeared various matronymic family names such as [[Rivlin]] (from [[Rivka]]/[[Rebecca (biblical figure)|Rebecca]]), [[Sorkin]] (from [[Sarah]]), [[Zeitlin]] (from Zeitl), [[Rochlin]] (from [[Rachel]]), [[Feiglin]] (from [[Feige]]), Dworkin (from Dvora), and others.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1086/474406|publisher=JSTOR: The Biblical World, Vol. 36, No. 6 (Dec., 1910 ), pp. 407-14|title=Traces of the Matronymic Family in the Hebrew Social Organization|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_biblical-world_1910-12_36_6/page/406|last=Cross|first= Earle Bennett|pages=407–14|journal=The Biblical World|volume=36|issue=6|year=1910|jstor=3141456|s2cid=143899711}}</ref> In certain Jewish prayers and blessings, matronyms are used, e.g., "Joseph ''ben'' (son of) Miriam".{{cn|date=May 2017}} 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 the [[Holy 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 surviving [[Ashkenazi]] 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 a [[matriname]], since these particular cases don't derive family names from a mother's ''fore''name, 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 1910 [[Austria-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian]] Jewish Census of [[Tarnopol]] recorded around 2,000 Jewish families, only 13 of whom possessed a mark of [[recte]] indicating a legal surname adopted from a mother's maiden name.<ref>[https://www.geshergalicia.org/tarnopol-1910-jewish-census-surname-list/ 1910 Jewish Census Surname List]</ref>

==See also==
* [[Matriname]]
* [[List of people who adopted matrilineal surnames]]

==References==

{{reflist}}

{{Personal names}}

[[Category:Matronymics|*]]