en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birth_order
2 corrections found
The tradition of a father naming his son after himself or a male relative from an earlier generation (grandfather, great-grandfather) is referred to as "patronymic"
This misuses the term “patronymic.” A patronymic is a name formed from a father’s or male ancestor’s given name, not the modern English practice of giving a child the exact same full name with a suffix like Jr. or II.
Full reasoning
In onomastics, patronymic has a specific meaning: a name formed from or derived from a father’s or male ancestor’s given name.
- Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines patronymic as “a name formed from the name of your father or a male ancestor, especially by adding something to the beginning or end of their name.”
- Cambridge Dictionary likewise says patronymic names such as Robson, Richardson, and Jackson are based on a father's given name.
That is different from the naming practice described in the article immediately above, where a son receives the same first name, middle name, and surname and is distinguished with Jr., II, III, etc. Cambridge defines Jr. as something “used at the end of a man's name to show that he is the son of a man with the same name.”
So the article is conflating two different naming concepts: patronymics (derived names such as Johnson or Ivanovich) and same-name generational suffixes / naming after a father or ancestor (such as John Smith Jr.).
3 sources
- patronymic noun - Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
a name formed from the name of your father or a male ancestor, especially by adding something to the beginning or end of their name
- PATRONYMIC | definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary
Patronymic names, such as Robson, Richardson, and Jackson, are based on the given name of a person's father.
- Jr. | definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary
used at the end of a man's name to show that he is the son of a man with the same name
while the tradition of a mother naming her daughter after herself or a female relative from an earlier generation (grandmother, great-grandmother) is referred to as "matronymic"
This similarly misuses “matronymic.” A matronymic is a name formed from a mother’s or female ancestor’s given name, not simply naming a daughter after her mother or grandmother.
Full reasoning
Matronymic is a technical naming term, and standard dictionaries define it more narrowly than the article does.
- Cambridge Dictionary defines matronymic as “a name that is based on the given name of someone's mother or one of their mother's ancestors.”
- Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines it as “a name formed from the name of your mother or a female ancestor, especially by adding something to the beginning or end of their name.”
So a matronymic is a derived name element or name form based on a mother’s/female ancestor’s given name. That is not the same thing as the modern English practice of simply giving a daughter the same full name as her mother or another female relative. The article is using matronymic for a namesake/same-name practice rather than for the derived-name system the term actually denotes.
2 sources
- MATRONYMIC | definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary
a name that is based on the given name of someone's mother or one of their mother's ancestors
- matronymic noun - Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
a name formed from the name of your mother or a female ancestor, especially by adding something to the beginning or end of their name