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Glite Dictionary
👨‍👦 A father's surname 👨‍👦 From father's name
patronymic

patronymic

1 9.8
A last name that comes from a father's first name
  • noun
  • /ˌpeɪtrəˈnɪmɪk/
  • Specialized
translation icon : patronímico
  • He called her ceremoniously by name and patronymic—"my dear Elena Nikolaevna"—and even laughed and tried to joke.

Examples

  • In Russian, it is customary to include a patronymic based on the father's name when addressing someone formally.

  • Her brothers adopted the surname of their father, and both they and their sister used the patronymic "Cornelissen" after they moved to Schenectady.

    Academic text (2010)

  • That's what she called her: Sylvia Solomonovna, the full name, respectably, with a patronymic.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • His formulaic response to inquiries about his parentage, "my father was a Turkish subject," does not put him into any ready category, and his patronymic, Ibragimovich, raises as many questions as it solves.

    Academic text (1999)

  • The family tree showed that his patronymic was derived from his grandfather's name.

  • In Iceland, children often receive a patronymic that reflects their father's first name, followed by 'son' or 'dóttir'.

Synonyms

patronym
vspatronymic
  • Specialized
9.9

A family name made from a father's given name

refers specifically to forms made with a prefix or suffix rather than any affix

Surface Forms

patronymic singular
patronymics plural

Morphology

patronymic = patronym (opaque) = patronym + ic

The formation patronym + -ic is etymologically regular but relies on specialist vocabulary ('patronym') that ordinary learners are unlikely to know.

Etymology

A patronymic is a family name that comes from a father's name. The word comes from the parts patr- meaning 'father' and -onym meaning 'name', so a patronymic is literally a 'father-name', like MacDonald meaning 'son of Donald'.