How names are built
Patronymic Names
At a glance
A patronymic is a name built from the father's name, such as Richardson ('son of Richard') or Sveinsdóttir ('Sveinn's daughter'). A matronymic, also called a metronymic, uses the mother's name instead. In a true patronymic system the name changes every generation, as it still does in Iceland. In most of Britain and Ireland patronymics froze into hereditary surnames, so a modern Johnson's father need not be called John.
- English
- -son (Richardson), -s (Richards) or no ending (Richard)
- Gaelic
- Mac/Mc 'son'; Irish Ó/O' 'grandson, descendant'
- Welsh
- ap/ab 'son', often fused: Bowen, Powell, Price
- Anglo-Norman
- Fitz- 'son' (Fitzwilliam)
- Still in use
- Icelandic -son/-dóttir; Russian -ovich/-ovna; Arabic ibn/bint
Patronymics and matronymics in different languages
| Name | Meaning or origin | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Richardson, Richards, Rixon English | All 'son of Richard'. Rixon comes from the pet form Rick. [1] | Recorded |
| Hodgson, Dodge English | From Hodge and Dodge, medieval pet forms of Roger. [1] | Recorded |
| Ibbotson English | A matronymic: son of Ibbot, a pet form of Isabel. [1] | Recorded |
| Fitzwilliam Anglo-Norman | 'Son of William'. Fitz comes through Old French from Latin filius, 'son'. [3] | Recorded |
| MacDonald Scottish Gaelic | From Mac Dhòmhnuill, 'son of Donald'. [1] | Recorded |
| O'Leary Irish | From Ó Laoghaire. Ó means 'grandson, descendant (of)'. [1] | Recorded |
| Bowen Welsh | From ab Owain, 'son of Owain'. [1] | Recorded |
| Price Welsh | Anglicised from ap Rhys, 'son of Rhys'. [5] | Recorded |
| Parry Welsh | From ap Harri, 'son of Harry'. [1] | Recorded |
| Sveinsson, Sveinsdóttir Icelandic | A son and a daughter of a man called Sveinn. The father's name is in the possessive (genitive) form, Sveins-. [1] | Recorded |
| Ivanovich, Ivanovna Russian | 'Son of Ivan' and 'daughter of Ivan'. [10] | Recorded |
| ibn, bint Arabic | 'Son (of)' and 'daughter (of)' in names: Ali ibn Amr is 'Ali son of Amr'. [13] | Recorded |
| Helgudóttir Icelandic pattern | Built as 'daughter of Helga' (genitive Helgu), to show how a matronymic is formed. | Built from real parts |
- Recorded Found in historical records.
- Built from real parts Made by us from genuine word elements.
Named from a father, or a mother
A patronymic identifies a person as their father's child. A matronymic (also metronymic) names the mother. Matronymics are far less common in Britain. Scholars think they arose especially where a woman was widowed. Most were made from pet forms of women's names: Ibbotson from Isabel, Mallinson from Maud, Marriott from Margery or Mary.[2]
There is an important difference between a true patronymic and a surname that began as one. In a true patronymic system everyone's second name refers to their actual father. Once the name becomes hereditary, it stops saying anything about the father. A Scot called Donald Rogerson in 1364 may really have been Roger's son; a Rogerson today usually is not.[2][1]
English: -son, -s and no ending
English patronymic surnames come in three shapes. They may end in -son (Richardson), in -s (Richards), or have no ending at all (Richard). They may use the father's full name or a medieval pet form: Dick, Hick and Rick for Richard, Hodge and Dodge for Roger. So Rogerson, Rogers, Hodgson, Hodgkiss and Dodge all go back to Roger.[2]
Most of these names are built on first names that the Normans made fashionable, such as Richard, Roger, William and Hugh. A few Old English and Old Norse names lasted long enough to become surnames too: Herrick comes from a form of Eric.[1]
Fitz, Mac, Ó and ap
Fitz is Anglo-Norman for 'son', from Latin filius, giving Fitzwilliam and Fitzpatrick. A popular belief says Fitz marks an illegitimate child. The word itself just means 'son'. The link comes from later names given to royal children born outside marriage, such as FitzRoy, 'son of the king'.[3][4]
Mac means 'son' in Irish and Scottish Gaelic: MacDonald is 'son of Donald', McIntosh 'son of the chief'. Irish Ó means 'grandson' or 'descendant', as in Ó Laoghaire (O'Leary). Irish names in Ó were among the first hereditary surnames anywhere in Britain and Ireland, probably from the late 10th century.[1]
Many people believe Mac is Scottish and Mc is Irish. It is not true: Mc (and M') began as written abbreviations of Mac, and both forms are found in both countries.[6][7]
Welsh ap or ab comes from mab, 'son'. It often fused with the father's name: Bowen (ab Owain), Powell (ap Hywel), Parry (ap Harri), Price (ap Rhys), and Pugh, Pritchard and Probert from Hugh, Richard and Robert. Just as often the Welsh form was swapped for an English-style -s name, which is why Jones, Williams and Evans are so common in Wales. True patronymics lasted in Wales until the 16th century among the gentry and into the 18th or 19th in many rural areas.[1][5]
Living patronymic systems
Iceland still uses patronymics. The ending -son or -dóttir is added to the possessive form of a parent's first name, so the children of Sveinn are Jón Sveinsson and Helga Sveinsdóttir. Icelandic law allows a matronymic, a patronymic or both, and only people who inherited a registered family name may use one as a surname. If the parents are not married or registered as cohabiting when the child is born, the child gets a matronymic until paternity is declared.[1][9][8]
Russian names have three parts: a first name, a patronymic and a family surname. The patronymic adds -ovich or -evich for a son and -ovna or -evna for a daughter: Ivan's children are Ivanovich and Ivanovna. Using the first name with the patronymic is the polite way to address someone.[10][11][12]
In Arabic names, ibn (also written bin) means 'son of' and bint means 'daughter of'.[13][14]
Patronymics in invented names
Building patronymics for a story or game? A few details make them convincing:
- Use the possessive form of the parent's name in Norse and Icelandic styles: Sveinsson, not Sveinnson. A daughter of Helga is Helgudóttir, because the possessive of Helga is Helgu.
- Decide whether the name changes every generation. In a living system like Iceland's it does, so a father and son have different second names. In a frozen system like most of Britain's, the whole family shares one.
- Keep one pattern per culture. A Welsh ap, a Gaelic Mac and an Icelandic -dóttir can all exist in one world, but mixing them inside one family will look odd to readers who know them.
The Viking Name Generator builds -son and -dóttir names this way.