User:Haukurth/Patronymics

Several cultures around the world use patronymics and not family names. This naming convention usually entails that people are primarily referred to by their given name and that lists of people are alphabetized by given name. This practice should generally be followed on Wikipedia, see below for details and exceptions.

Examples

 * Non-Chinese Malaysians most commonly use patronymics, either with the particle 'bin' or no particle at all. For example Hishammuddin Hussein is the son of Hussein Onn, the son of Onn Jaafar. Hussein Onn's eldest daughter was Hanim Hussein. See Malaysian name and Manual of Style (Malaysia-related articles).


 * Ethiopians and Eritreans use patronymics in the same way. See Habesha name and Manual of Style (Ethiopia-related articles).


 * Most Icelanders have patronymics, consisting of the father's name in genitive form and the suffix -son for sons and -dóttir for daughters. For example Steingrímur Hermannsson is the son of Hermann Jónasson and Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir is the daughter of Gunnar Eyjólfsson. See Icelandic name and Manual of Style (Iceland-related articles).

Reasoning
The main reason to use the given name as a primary point of reference for people without family names is that this is the usual (and respectful) practice in the relevant cultures. But there are also practical considerations in favor of it.


 * Most articles introduce people with their full name and then refer to them by only one name on subsequent mention. For people with family names it makes sense to use the family name in subsequent references since it is usually much more distinctive than the given name - there are many people called Tony but not so many people called Blair. With a patronymic naming system this reasoning no longer applies - there is no reason to think that there are more people called Hishammuddin than Hussein or that there are more people with the patronymic Hermannsson than the given name Steingrímur.


 * By using patronymics to refer to people we would be left with a lot of male given names and no female given names - in effect referring to every woman with the name of her father.

Examples in use

 * "Following Ethiopian practice and the logic of names, Ethiopian names are not inverted in the references in this book. In an alphabetical list together with European names, Ethiopians thus appear under their first names. Any other order creates confusion" - Bahrus Zewde and Siegfried Pausewang (2002). Ethiopia: The Challenge of Democracy from Below. ISBN 97-7106-501-6 p. 6


 * "Most Icelanders use patronymics and not family names. It follows from this that it sounds natural to mention a person, even a complete stranger, by his or her first name alone. Thus it is not a sign of a [sic] over-familiarity when the author speaks of Jón Sigurðsson, Iceland's national leader in the 19th century, as Jón. Thus Icelanders are placed in the order of their first names in the Bibliography and Index." - Gunnar Karlsson (2000). Iceland's 1100 Years: History of a Marginal Society. Hurst, London. ISBN 1-85065-420-4. Page xiii.