Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2008)
|
|
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2008) |
A matronymic is a personal name based on the name of one's mother. It is the female equivalent of a patronymic. In patriarchal societies, matronymic surnames are far less common than patronyms. In the past, matronymic last names were often given to children of unwed mothers. Other times when a woman was especially well known or powerful, her descendants would adopt a matronym based on her name. Today some have chosen to adopt matronymic last names, such as the poet Yocheved Bat-Miriam.
Some English matronyms are Beaton, Hilliard, and Megson.
Family names derived from matronyms are also found in Romania, especially in the region of Moldavia. Examples include: Aioanei, Ababei, Acatrinei, Ailincăi.
Some Icelandic people, like Heiðar Helguson, have matronyms. (See Icelandic name.)
Matronymics also appear in medieval Irish and Welsh tales such as Cath Maige Tuired and the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi (the children of Dôn).
In the old Finnish system, women were standardly given matronyms, while men were given patronyms. (Since the 19th century the system of inherited family names has been used, however, and today nearly all Finlanders have inherited surnames.)
The Minangkabau of Indonesia are the largest group of people who use this naming system.
There are indications of a Jewish history of matronymic names. [1]
 |
This name-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it |