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A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic),Willy van Langendonck. 2007. Theory and Typology of Proper Names. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, p. 275.Eichler, Ernst et al. (eds.). 1995. Namenforschung. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, p. 488. or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic.
Patronymics are used, by custom or official policy, in many countries worldwide, although elsewhere their use has been replaced by or transformed into patronymic surnames. Examples of such transformations include common English surnames such as Johnson (son of John).
This system can be seen in the names of Nanzhao, Dali and Lijiang rulers.
Nanzhao kings: Xinuluo (細奴邏)－ Luosheng (邏盛)－ Shengluopi (盛邏皮)－Piluoge (皮邏閣)－ Geluofeng (閣邏鳳)－ Fengjiayi (鳳迦異)－ Yimouxun (異牟尋)－ Xungequan (尋閣勸)－ Quanlongsheng (勸龍晟)
Dali Kingdom kings: Duan Zhixiang (段智祥)－Duan Xiangxing (段祥興)－Duan Xingzhi (段興智)
Regents of Dali Kingdom: Gao Shengtai (高升泰)－Gao Taiming (高泰明)－Gao Mingshun (高明順)－Gao Shunzhen (高順貞)－Gao Zhenshou (高貞壽)－Gao Shouchang (高壽昌)
Lijiang chiefs: A-ts'ung A-liang (阿琮阿良)－ A-liang A-hu (阿良阿胡)－ A-hu A-lieh (阿胡阿烈)－ A-lieh A-chia (阿烈阿甲)－ A-chia A-te (阿甲阿得)－ A-te A-ch'u (阿得阿初)－ A-ch'u A-t'u (阿初阿土)－ A-t'u A-ti (阿土阿地)－ A-ti A-hsi (阿地阿習)－ A-hsi A-ya (阿習阿牙)－ A-ya A-ch'iu (阿牙阿秋)－ A-ch'iu A-kung (阿秋阿公)－ A-kung A-mu (阿公阿目)－ A-mu A-tu (阿目阿都)－ A-tu A-sheng (阿都阿勝)－ A-sheng A-chai (阿勝阿宅)－Mu Zeng (阿宅阿寺)－ A-ssu A-ch'un (阿寺阿春)－ A-ch'un A-su (阿春阿俗)－ A-su A-wei (阿俗阿胃)－ A-wei A-hui (阿胃阿揮)－ A-hui A-chu (阿揮阿住)
In Tamil Nadu and some parts of Kerala and South Karnataka, patronymy is predominant. This is a significant departure from the rest of the country where caste names are mostly employed as surnames. This came into common use during the 1950s and 1960s when the Dravidian movement campaigned against the use of one's caste as part of the name.
However, rather than using the father's full name, only the first letter, popularly known as the initial, is prefixed to the given name. For example, if a person's given name is Nikhilesh and his father's Rajaraman, then the full name is R. Nikhilesh and is seldom expanded, even in official records. Only if absolutely necessary, such as when applying for an Indian passport, which does not usually allow initials, is the initial expanded and the name rendered in reverse order as "Nikhilesh Rajaraman" or sometime in the original order as "Rajaraman Nikhilesh". Some families follow the tradition of retaining the name of the hometown, the grandfather's name, or both as initials. The celebrated Indian English novelist R. K. Narayan's name at birth was Rasipuram Krishnaswami Ayyar Narayanaswami, which was shortened at the behest of his writer friend Graham Greene. Rasipuram is a toponym, and Krishnaswami Ayyar is a patronym.
In Tamil Nadu, the patronymic naming convention diverges significantly from other regions of India, influenced by a social justice movement aimed at eliminating Caste. Traditionally, many Indian states used patronyms or surnames to reflect familial heritage and caste, but Tamil Nadu's system intentionally disrupts this structure.
In this system, individuals often use their father's given name as an initial or surname. For example, "R. Karthik" signifies Karthik, son of Rajesh, with "R" representing his father's name. Unlike other Indian states, where the patronym serves as a marker of lineage or social status, Tamil Nadu's system allows for the patronym to change with each generation, ensuring that no permanent surname is passed down. This shift reflects the state's broader efforts to dismantle caste markers in society, a key initiative of the Dravidian movement led by figures like Periyar in the 20th century.
However, the use of initials and surnames in Tamil Nadu remains flexible, leaving it to the individual's discretion. For instance, the late Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi preferred to be addressed as M. Karunanidhi, where "M" stood for his father, Muthuvel's, name. His son, M. K. Stalin, incorporates both his father's and grandfather's names, while Stalin's son chooses to go by Udhayanidhi Stalin, using his father's name as his surname rather than as an initial.
This flexibility extends beyond political figures. In sports, cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin, whose father's name is Ravichandran, prefers to be known as "R. Ashwin" or "Ravichandran Ashwin." This choice is particularly relevant in sports commentary, where players are often referred to by their surnames. Since it would be incorrect to call him by his father's name alone, Ashwin uses his given name in conjunction with his father's name.
There is also a growing trend in Tamil Nadu to expand initials in ways that align with how names sound in the Tamil language. For example, some choose to expand names phonetically, such as "Pala. Karuppiah" instead of "P. Karuppiah," or "Pa. Ranjith" rather than "P. Ranjith," to reflect a closer approximation of the name in Tamil.
In the academic and professional world, scientists like M. Annadurai expand their names to "Mayilsami Annadurai," though it would be inappropriate to address him by his father's name, Mayilsami. Instead, he is referred to by his given name, Annadurai, underscoring the unique flexibility and personalization that Tamil Nadu's naming conventions allow.
This evolution in Tamil naming practices highlights both the influence of social justice reforms and the cultural adaptability within the state. While Tamil Nadu has largely moved away from caste-based surnames, the naming system retains a focus on individual identity, free from rigid lineage-based structures, distinguishing it from other Indian states.
While the usage of caste names as surnames/last names is discouraged (but not banned) in Tamil Nadu, such usage by out-of-state people is greeted with indifference. So, Lakshmi Menon, Shilpa Shetty, etc. are referred by their preferred names which include their caste names. Likewise, old Tamil names with the caste in them are also fully used while referring to them such as Pasumpoan Muthuramalinga Thevar, U.Ve. Swaminatha Iyer, V.O Chidambaram Pillai etc.
To further reinforce Tamil Nadu's efforts in promoting social equality through its naming conventions, the Madras High Court recently directed the removal of community and caste names from government school names across the state. This move aligns with the state's long-standing policies to reduce caste-based distinctions in public life, including naming practices. The court's decision reflects the state's dedication to social justice by eliminating caste markers, particularly in institutions that shape young minds. This legal step ensures that the caste system is not perpetuated through the education system, aligning with the larger movement that has shaped Tamil Nadu's approach to names and identity over the past century.
This final ruling serves as an important reminder of the state's commitment to dismantling caste-based identity and promoting a more egalitarian social structure, further cementing Tamil Nadu's unique position in its approach to names, identity, and social justice.
In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the naming pattern is a family name, given name and caste name in that order, but sometimes the caste name is omitted. If a name appears like Alugupally Sudhir Reddy, Alugupally is the family name, Sudhir is the given name and Reddy is the caste name. If you find a name like Gorle Sunil Kumar, Gorle is the family name, and Sunil Kumar the given name. Here, the caste name is omitted. Of late, some people are writing their names in the order of given name, caste name, and family name. Sometimes, the caste name is omitted here too. It can be seen in names like Satyanarayana Bandi, where Satyanarayana is the given name, and Bandi the family name.
In Maharashtra, Karnataka,Sindhi Hindus and Gujarat, a very common convention among the Hindu communities is to have the patronymic as the middle name. Examples:
This system works for both boys and girls, except that after marriage, a woman takes her husband's given name as her middle name – her new middle name is no longer a patronymic. Russian name are similar, except that the suffix -yevich, -yevna, or something similar is used in a Russian language patronymic.
Indians of the Muslim Isma'ili Fiqh also have patronymic middle names that use the father's first name and the grandfather's first name plus a family name. Someone called "Ramazan Rahim Ali Manji" might call his son "Karim Ramazan Rahim Manji" and his granddaughter might be called "Zahra Karim Ramazan Manji".
Singaporean Indians use the abbreviations s/o (son of) or d/o (daughter of), while Malaysian Indians typically use the respective Bahasa Malaysia variations "anak lelaki" (abbreviated a/l) or "anak perempuan" (abbreviated a/p). In some cases, individuals may opt to omit the patronymic indicator and abbreviate the patronymic for ease of usage. For example, a former deputy minister of Malaysia Pathmanaban a/l Kunjamboo was more commonly referred to as K. Pathmanaban and veteran Singaporean politicians Shanmugam Kasiviswanathan and Suppiah Dhanabalan went by K. Shanmugam and S. Dhanabalan respectively. The individual may opt not to include "son of" or "daughter of" in their legal name, as in the case of Shanmugam and Dhanabalan.
In Brunei, the ruling family of the monarch uses given name + ibni + father's name instead of using bin/binti.
In Indonesia, there are a number of ethnic groups with different naming systems. The Batak people of North Sumatra (Sumatra Utara) give every child the family's name. Sometimes the family's name is prefixed by Huta-, Batu-, etc., but most use Si-, such as Sitanggang, Sihombing, Sibutar-butar, Sinaga, or Sitohang. The family's name is given from the father's family. For example, if the father's name is Boggi Sinaga who married Moetia Siregar then all children will be given the family's name of Sinaga.
In Sunda, a similar cultural rule is used to that of the Batak. The family's name for Sunda language is -Wijaya, but that is not true for all Sundanese people families.
Many Armenian surnames were once patronymics first used by distant ancestors or clan founders. These are characterized by the suffix "-ian" in Western Armenian, often transliterated as "-yan" in Eastern Armenian. These are appended to the given name, i.e. Kardash ian, Asdvadzadour ian, Tank ian, Hagop ian, Khachadour ian, Mardiros ian, Bedros ian, Sarkiss ian, etc. Note that the suffix "-ian" was also appended to trades, as in Adakhtsakordz ian (issued from the carpenter), Chal ian (issued from the candlemaker), Darbin ian (issued from the smith).
Of particular note are the surnames of the children of married priests, or italic=no. Though not as common nowadays, it was customary for a long time for these children (particularly the sons) to change their last names to the name-in-religion of their father. For example, the son of Ter (Reverend) Bartev would change his last name to Ter Bartevian.
In medieval times, an Illegitimacy of unknown parentage would sometimes be termed , "son of his father" (notably Ziyad ibn Abihi.) In the Qur'an, Jesus (Isa in Arabic) is consistently termed – a matronymic (in the Qur'an, Jesus Parthenogenesis; see Jesus in Islam). An Arabic patronymic can be extended as far back as family tree records will allow: thus, for example, Ibn Khaldun gave his own full name as .
Patronymics are still standard in parts of the Arab world, notably Saudi Arabia and Iraq (in the case of Iraq, with or omitted.) However, some of the Arab world has switched to a family name system. As in English, the new family names are sometimes based on what was formerly a patronymic. The form most used in the Arab world is the usage of both the patronymic and a family name, often using both the father's and paternal grandfathers given name in sequence after the own given name, and then the family name. In Iraq, for example, full names are formed by combining the given name of an individual with the given name of their father (sometimes the father is skipped and the paternal grandfather's given name is used instead, sometimes both father and paternal grandfather are used), along with the town, village, or clan name. For instance, Hayder Karar Hussein al-Mousawi is named Hayder, the son of Karrar, the grandson of Hussein, and from the family of Mousawi (This is the surname given to the offspring of the Imam Musa al-Kazim). In Saudi Arabia, naming conventions are similar to Iraq's but family names are used much more often.
also often make use of the prefix bar-.
At the north end of the Irish Sea, in Ulster, the Isle of Man, and Galloway (indeed as far north as Argyll), "Mac" was frequently truncated in speech to /k/. This led to such anglicisations as "Qualtrough" (Son of Walter) and "Quayle" (son of Paul, cf. MacPhail), usually beginning with "C," "K," or "Q." In Ireland, this truncation resulted in surnames such as "Guinness" (son of Aonghus, cf. MacAonghusa), beginning usually in "C" or "G" for patronymics prefixed with Mac, and in "H" (e.g., "Hurley" descendant) for surnames prefixed with "O." Colloquial Scottish Gaelic also has other patronymics of a slightly different form for individuals, still in use (for more information please see: Scottish Gaelic personal naming system).
Welsh, as a P-Celtic language, originally used map or mab instead of the Q-Celtic mac employed in Ireland and Scotland. These were later simplified to the modern Welsh ap and ab. A common practice is to use mab/ ab before a father's name beginning with a vowel (e.g., Llywelyn mab Iorwerth), but the two alternative forms are also employed arbitrarily in many sources.
Daughters were indicated by ferch or verch (mutated from merch, "girl, daughter"). Angharad verch Owain would be "Angharad, daughter of Owain".
After the Acts of Union, this led to many Welsh surnames being variants of their father or ancestor's personal name: ap or ab Ieuan often became "Evans"; ap Rhys, "Price"; ap or ab Owain, "Bowen"; ap Hywel, "Powell" or "Howell". In addition to these Anglicised baptismal and official names, patronyms continued to be commonly employed in Welsh until the Industrial Revolution, particularly in the north and west of Wales. Patronyms were sometimes employed within the English names as well by using the father's personal name as the sons' middle name.
Perhaps because Cornish surnames was legally incorporated into England earlier than Wales was, patronyms (e.g.italic=no) are less common there than toponyms (e.g. Tresillian, Trevithick, Nankivell) and occupational surnames (e.g. An Gof, An Gove, (Blacksmith); Helyer (Cornish dialect – possibly a slater or Hunter (italic=no)).reepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~kernow/names_h.htm
Patronymics were common in the Dutch Dutch Republic until the French invasion in 1795 and subsequent annexation in 1810. As the Netherlands were now a province of France, a registry of births, deaths and marriages was established in 1811, whereupon emperor Napoleon forced the Dutch to register and adopt a distinct surname.
The tradition of patronymic lineage is still used among some Canadian descendants of French colonists: in the oral tradition of many Acadians, for example, Marc à Pierre à Gérard (), means "Marc, son of Pierre, grandson of Gérard".
In written in Latin language, the father's name would be written in Genitive case with no preposition. For a deceased father, the particle quondam (English once/formerly) was added. The examples above would have been translated as Marius Johannis Rossi and Franciscus quondam Petri Verdi.
Patronymics are not in common usage in modern Italian. However, some of them have been the source of various surnames. As an example, the individuals descended from a man named Paolo could have gained the patronymic surnames Paolo, Di Paolo, De Paoli, Paoli, Polo, Pagolo, Pagoli, Paolino, Lino, etc.
In Portugal, there are some surnames that had a patronymic genesis but, while still common, no longer indicate patronymic usage. For instance, Álvares was the son of Álvaro and Gonçalves was the son of Gonçalo (it was the case of Nuno Álvares Pereira, son of Álvaro and Gonçalves Pereira, son of Gonçalo Pereira). Other cases include Rodrigues ( son of Rodrigo), Nunes ( son of Nuno) and Fernandes ( son of Fernando). In the same way, the surname Soares means son of Soeiro (in Latin Suarius). It comes from Latin Suaricius (son of Suarius); the Latin genitive suffix -icius/a was used to indicate a patronymic. Later it became Suáriz, Suárez (both Spanish), and eventually Soares (Portuguese). Another theory attributes the Iberian -ez style patronymics to Germanic (Visigothic) rather than Latin influence.
Spanish patronyms follow a similar pattern to the Portuguese (e.g., López: son of Lope; Fernández: son of Fernando; Martínez: son of Martín; Rodríguez: son of Rodrigo; Álvarez: son of Álvaro). Common endings include -ez, -az, -iz, -is and -oz. However, not all surnames with similar endings are necessarily patronymic. For example, Chávez is not the son of Chavo, but comes from Galician or Portuguese chaves, meaning "keys", with the "s" denoting the plural form of chave, as is the case of key/keys in English.
However, these kinds of surnames were unusual outside the Crown of Castile. Apart from natural spelling variations (such as using Giménez or Ximénez), modern orthographic standardisation in each Iberian dialect brought a number of crossed versions. It is possible to find the Catalan language politician Jordi Sànchez (whose surname, while Spanish, has a grave accent – characteristic of Catalan – instead of the acute accent used in Spanish) or the journalist Vicenç Sanchis (who spells his surname in a way that is closer to Catalan, but with the ch digraph characteristic of Spanish).
Due to the letters, z and s being pronounced alike in Latin American dialects of Spanish, many non-patronymic surnames with an -es have come to be written with an -ez. In Hispano-American Spanish, the -ez spellings of Chávez (Hugo Chávez), Cortez (Alberto Cortez) and Valdez (Nelson Valdez) are not patronymic surnames, but simply variant spellings of the Iberian Spanish spelling with -es, as in the names of Manuel Chaves, Hernán Cortés and Víctor Valdés. For more on the -z surnames in Spanish see Influences on the Spanish language.
A list of some Iberian patronymics:
| Álvaro | Álvarez | Álvares, Alves |
| Antom, Antão, António | Antúnez | Antunes |
| Benito, Bento, Bieito | Benítez | Bentes, Bieites, Viéitez |
| Bermudo, Vermudo | Bermúdez, Vermúdez | Bermudes |
| Bernardo | Bernárdez | Bernardes |
| Diego, Diogo | Díaz, Díez, Diéguez | Dias, Diegues |
| Domingo, Domingos | Domínguez | Domingues |
| Egaz, Egas | Viegaz | Viegas |
| Enrique, Henrique | Enríquez | Henriques |
| Ermígio, Hermígio | Ermíguez | Hermigues |
| Esteban, Estêvão | Estébanez | Esteves, Estévez |
| Facundo | Fagúndez | Fagundes |
| Fáfila, Fávila | Fáfez, Fáfilaz | Fafes, Fáfilas |
| Fernão, Fernando | Fernández | Fernandes |
| Froila, Fruela | Fróilaz, Fruelaz | Froilas, Fruelas |
| García, Garcia | Garcés | Garcês |
| Geraldo | Geráldez | Geraldes |
| Godinho, Godím | Godins, Godínez | Godins |
| Gomes1 | Gómez | Gomes |
| Gonzalo, Gonçalo | González | Gonçalves |
| Gutier, Gutierre, Guterre² | Gutiérrez | Guterres |
| Juan, João (from the Latin Ioannes) | Yáñez, Yanes, Ibáñez | Eanes, Anes |
| Lope, Lopo1 | López | Lopes |
| Marco, Marcos | Márquez | Marques |
| Martín, Martim, Martinho | Martínez | Martins |
| Menendo, Mendo, Mem, 1 | Menéndez, Méndez | Mendes |
| Muño, Monio1 | Muñoz | Moniz |
| Nuño, Nuno | Núñez | Nunes |
| Ordoño, Ordonho | Ordóñez | Ordonhes |
| Pelayo, Paio1 | Peláez, Páez | Paes, Pais |
| Pero, Pedro | Pérez, Píriz | Peres, Pires |
| Ramiro | Ramírez | Ramires |
| Rodrigo | Rodríguez | Rodrigues |
| Ruy, Rui-Roi³ | Ruíz | Ruis, Rois |
| Sancho | Sánchez | Sanches |
| Suero, Soeiro1 | Suárez | Soares |
| Tello, Telo | Téllez | Teles |
| Varão | Varón | Varão |
| Velasco, Vasco | Velázquez, Vázquez | Vasques, Vaz |
| Vímara | Vimaránez | Vimaranes, Guimarães |
| Ximeno, Jimeno, Gimeno, Chemene, Exemeno1 | Ximénez, Jiménez, Jimenes, Ximenes, Giménez, Gimenes, Chiménez, Chimenes, Seménez, Semenes, Ximenis, Eiximenis, Scimemi, Scimeni, Chimenz, Jimeno, Eiximinis, Eximenis | Ximenes |
Eventually, most Nordic countries replaced or complemented this system with the prevailing "international" standard of inherited family names. In Norway, for example, the Storting passed a family name act in 1923, citing the rising population and the need to avoid the confusion of new last names in every generation. The law does allow a person to retain a patronymic as a middle name in addition to the surname, as was common in Early Modern times; this is not a common practice but does occur, a modern example being Audhild Gregoriusdotter Rotevatn. The Danish government outlawed the practice in 1856 and eased the regulations in 1904 to deal with the limited number of patronymics. In Sweden the practice of children keeping their father's and wives taking their husband's patronymic as a surname occurred in the 18th century but was first prevalent in the late 19th century. Patronymics were normal in Sweden, at least in rural Sweden, until the 19th century. From the end of the 19th-century patronymics gradually became less common in Sweden until they were abolished in 1966. In 1982 the right to use patronyms (and matronyms) was partially restored; a person (or the parents of a child) had to apply and pay a fee. From 1 July 2017 parents in Sweden are free to give their children patronyms/matronyms at birth instead of inherited family names, and any person can change their last name to a matronymic or patronymic.
Matronyms were used exceptionally if the child was born out of wedlock, or if the mother was much more high-born or well-known than the father, a historical example being Sweyn Estridsson.
Icelandic name, patronymics or matronymics are still used as last names, and this is, in fact, required by law, with a handful of exceptions. For almost all cases, the father's name (usually in the genitive case) is used, plus the word son for sons or dóttir for daughters. For example, Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir (i.e. "Jóhanna, daughter of Sigurður"). People who do not identify as male or female (nonbinary people) can also use the suffix -bur, which means child of . Kristeligt Dagblad: Island bryder med tradition for son eller dottir''
In 2022, the Swedish Tax Agency denied a Gotland woman's application to change her surname to one with the Gutnish ending -dotri (instead of -dotter) on the grounds that it did not follow Swedish conventions. The administrative court in Stockholm decided in her favour on appeal, Sveriges Radio P4 Gotland: Skatteverket: Därför överklagar vi beslutet om gutniska efternamnet with the Tax Agency in turn taking the case to the Court of Appeal; in early 2023, the Court of Appeal finally ruled that she was allowed to use a Gutnish surname. Sveriges Radio P4 Gotland: Vändningen: Julia får heta Andersdotri i efternamn
Historically, patronymics were composed in Swedish fashion: the father's name and the suffix -n for genitive plus the word poika for sons, tytär for daughters. For example, Tuomas Abrahaminpoika means "Tuomas, Abraham's son", and Martta Heikintytär means "Martta, Heikki's daughter".
Georgian family names derive mostly from patronymics, nicknames and places of origin. Two common elements, dze and shvili mean "son of" and "child" respectively.
In addition to those surnames, actual patronymics are used in official documents as "middle names" preceding the surname. For example, the children of a Ioánnis Papadópoulos can be María Ioánnou Papadopoúlou and Andréas Ioánnou Papadópoulos ( Ioánnou is the genitive of Ioánnis). Traditionally, a married woman would adopt her husband's family name. Now, however, women in Greece can keep their own surnames if they choose.
In Russia, the patronymic is an official part of the name, used in all official documents, and when addressing somebody both formally and among friends. The correct written order of a full name is surname, given name, then patronymic – this order would be found on official documents, business cards, and formal addresses. For example, a woman named Mariya Iosifovna Zhukova would hand you a business card that says Zhukova Mariya Iosifovna. Use of the given name followed by the patronymic in Russian is always the neutral, correct and polite way to address any person except close friends, family members, or children – in such cases usage of the patronymic adds humorous intonation of exaggerated but well-meant respect. This form would be congruent to the Western use of Mr. and the surname for the polite and proper use and reference. Instead of schoolchildren calling their teacher Ms. and surname, the proper form would be given name and patronymic. For example, a teacher named Anna Borisovna Kopylova would always be called Anna Borisovna by her pupils. When addressing a much younger person, only the first name is commonly used. Individuals are addressed by their given name followed by the patronymic (e.g., "Mikhail Nikolayevich") in many situations including on formal occasions, by colleagues at work, by acquaintances, or when being addressed by someone younger in age. It is becoming more common for younger individuals (under 50) to drop the patronymic at work. In informal situations, if a person is called by a diminutive (such as Misha for Mikhail or Nastya for Anastasia), the patronymic is not used.
In colloquial, informal speech, it is also possible to contract the ending of a patronymic: thus Nikolayevich becomes Nikolaich, and Stepan Ivanovich becomes Stepan Ivanych or simply Ivanych as the given name may be omitted altogether. In this case, the contraction, if possible, is obligatory: Ivan Sergeyevich Sidorov may be called "Sergeich" or, more rarely, "Sergeyevich". In contrast to male names, if a woman is called by her patronymic name without a given name, the patronymic is usually not contracted: "Ivanovna" but "Mar' Ivanna"; "Sergeyevna" or "Sergevna" is one exception, where both forms are fine. Typically, a patronymic name alone is a familiar form of addressing an older female.
It became more common to include the name of any one of the parents in legal documents ('ime jednog roditelja') – in practice this is usually still the father's name.
In Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia, the patronymic names do not change form between masculine and feminine. Example: Marija Dragoljuba Pavlović (Dragoljub is the father's name; Dragoljuba is the form that says she is his daughter or literally 'of Dragoljub'). However, in the past, unmarried Serbian women's surnames ended in -eva, while married Serbian women's surnames ended in -ka.
Patronyms are part of the full name and are obligatory in formal messages. They are frequent in common speech, such as to call a person in a respectful manner (by using the name, followed by the patronym) and to accent an informal message in formal environments, as between colleagues with good relationships at work (by using the patronym with neither the name nor the family name).
Serbian
Vuk Karadžić reported in the 19th century that Serbs sometimes used their old family names, and sometimes patronymics. Vuk Karadžić himself used patronymic “Stefanović” (son of Stefan, equivalent of Steven), and sometimes Karadžić, old family name. However, nowadays, the patronymic names in Serbia are mostly used on legal documents, and have the form of the father's name that says the child is 'of so and so'... example: Marija Dragoljuba Pavlović, where Dragoljub is the father's name and 'Dragoljuba' literally means 'of Dragoljub'. There are also other forms, like to include – the father's name – in brackets: Maria (Dragoljub) Pavlović.
Turkish
In Turkish language, the used to indicate paternal ancestry are -oğlu and -zade, which indicate the ancestry as coming from a certain man. Like many other patronymics in other languages, with the formalization of naming conventions by laws in the late modern contemporary age many turned into surnames. After the 'Surname Law' in 1934, many people chose professions or habitat as surnames with or without the suffix -oğlu, such as Elbeyioğlu, Bakkaloğlu or Giritlioğlu and with -zade such as Begzada, Mehmedzade, Yusufzade.
Ukrainian
In Ukrainian, the female patronymic always ends with -івна (- ivna) or -ївна (- yivna). The male patronymic always ends with -ович (- ovych) or -йович (- yovych). Ukrainian:Lonely Planet Phrasebook by Marko Pavlyshyn, Lonely Planet, 2002, (page 52) Exception: Illia (Ілля) → Illich (Ілліч) (e.g. Illia Illich Mechnikov), Sava (Сава) → Savych (Савич), Yakiv (Яків) → Yakovych (Якович).Потелло Н. Я. Теорія і практика ділового мовлення: Навч. посібник.— К.: МАУП, 1999.— 132 с.— Бібліогр.: с. 129.
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