A matronymic is a personal 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 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 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 μήτηρ
mētēr "mother" (
Genitive case μητρός
mētros whence the
combining form μητρo-
mētro-),
[.] ὄνυμα
onyma, a variant form of ὄνομα
onoma "name",
[.] and the suffix -
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 was then borrowed into Latin in a partially Latinised form (Greek
mētēr, dialectally
mātēr, corresponds to Latin
mater),
as
matronomicus. These words were a source for coining the English
matronymic as the female counterpart to
patronymic (first attested in English in 1612).
["matronymic, n. and adj.". OED Online, 3rd edition. March 2018. Oxford University Press.] 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).["metronymic, n. and adj."; "metronym, n.". OED Online, 3rd edn. March 2018. Oxford University Press.] These are, for example, the forms used in the 2016 The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland.[ The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland, ed. by Patrick Hanks, Richard Coates, Peter McClure (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016).] 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, Bunts and Khasi, have family names which are inherited from their mother. Matronymic names are common in
Kerala.
[ Mother's name becoming common in naming conventions in Kerala (page 201), shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in; accessed May 18, 2017.] Daughters take the names of their mothers as the second part of their name.
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 (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.
After pushback from conservative groups, the court reversed its decision in November.
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.
There exist other examples of matronymics in historical Arabic.
[Forster, Charles. The Historical Geography of Arabia, Volume 2, University of Michigan, Duncan and Malcolm, Page 27]
Mongolia
While most
Mongolian names today are patronymic, some Mongolians are known to be matronymic. This could be due to, for example, an
Father absence such as in the case of Punsalmaagiin Ochirbat, the first elected president of Mongolia.
Philippines
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
, 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 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 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 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.
[Bowman, William Dodgson. The Story of Surnames. London, George Routledge & Sons, Ltd., 1932. No ISBN.]
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 FitzEmpress and Robert FitzWimarc.
Iceland
Some
people, like Heiðar Helguson, have matronyms.
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.
[Thomas Kinsella (translator), The Táin, Oxford University Press, 1969, p. 3]
Netherlands
Matronymics are accepted in the Netherlands but are generally written as given names on identity cards.
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,). 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,
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".
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), Sorkin (from Sarah), Zeitlin (from Zeitl), Rochlin (from Rachel), Feiglin (from Feige), Dworkin (from Dvora), and others.
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 forename, 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 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.[ 1910 Jewish Census Surname List]
See also
-
Matriname
-
List of people who adopted matrilineal surnames
