Patronymic (Noun)
Meaning
A family name derived from name of your father or a paternal ancestor (especially with an affix (such as -son in English or O'- in Irish) added to the name of your father or a paternal ancestor).
Classification
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents.
Examples
- The surname "Johnson" is a patronymic derived from the name of the father, John, with the affix "-son" added to indicate "son of John".
- In many Arabic cultures, a person's full name includes a patronymic, such as "Ibn Abdullah", meaning "son of Abdullah".
- The Irish surname "O'Connor" is a patronymic meaning "descendant of Connor", with the prefix "O'" indicating "grandchild of".
- In ancient Greece, patronymics were commonly used to identify a person's family lineage, such as "Aristides, son of Lysimachus".
- The Russian surname "Ivanovich" is a patronymic derived from the name of the father, Ivan, with the suffix "-ovich" added to indicate "son of Ivan".