History UsefulNotes / NamingConventions

* Rhyming nicknames: For a few centuries there, it was common to not only shorten a name but to rhyme it. Thus Margaret --> Meg & Peg. Robert & Robin --> Rob, Dob, & Hob. Rickard --> Rick --> Dick & Hick. That, by the way, is why we call country bumpkins hicks. They hung onto the old-fashioned nicknaming system long after it fell out of style. Only a rube would still call himself Hick. This also explains the opening of the rhyme "Hickory, Dickory, Doc". Those are the names of the three mice that ran up the clock.

Besides Spanish, there's also a healthy mix of indigenous and Chinese surnames. Indigenous-derived surnames are usually descriptive and are often {{Awesome McCoolname}}s, such as Panganiban ("aware of danger") and Dimaapi ("cannot be oppressed"), and once used Spanish orthographical conventions until late 19th-century orthographic reforms encouraged native spellings. As for Chinese surnames, there are three variants: The single-syllable surname for Chinese Filipinos who immigrated from 1898 onward, the patrilineal surname consisting of a Spanish-orthographized form of the patriarch's full name (e.g. Gokongwei, Yuchengco) for Chinese Filipinos who immigrated before 1898, and Spanish-orthographized forms of words in the Hokkien dialect denoting their ancestry for native-born Chinese Filipinos (e.g. Tuazon = eldest grandson; Dizon = second grandson; Samson/Sanson[[note]]which is coincidentally similar to the Hebrew name[[/note]] = third grandson; etc.)\\

[[folder:East Asian]]

So, for example, if Jón and Sara, an Icelandic couple, were to have a son named Stefan and a daughter named Freyja, their children's legal Icelandic names would be Stefan Jónsson (Stefan, Jón's son) and Freyja Jónsdottir (Freyja, Jón's daughter), respectively. \\

Icelandic people may also use a matronymic if they so choose, e.g. to distance themself from the father, make a social statement, or as a matter of personal style. Since 2019, a neuter (gender-neutral) suffix ''-bur'' (based on a poetic form of "son", in this case, it would be "child of [X]") can be legally used in an Icelandic patronymic for non-binary individuals. \\

In Icelandic, a patronymic usually consists of the father's given name, followed by the suffix ''-sson'' (masculine) or ''-sdottir'' (feminine). \\

<given name> [[UsefulNotes/{{Patronymic}} <father's given name (M: -sson, F: -sdottir, gender-neutral: -bur)>]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:East Asian]]
'''Chinese''' - <family name> <given name>\\
'''Japanese''' - <family name> <given name>\\
'''Korean''' - <family name> <given name> - Korean given names consist of two syllables, usually hyphenated in the West. It is common for given include "generational name", one syllables shared by all siblings in a family (North Korea) or all members of same generation in extended family (South Korea).\\

'''Hong Kong:''' If a person has a Western given name in addition to a Chinese one, then in English-language sources their full name order will be the Western given name, followed by the family name, followed by the Chinese given name. For example, the second Chief Executive Sir Yam-Kuen, or Donald, of the Tseng family, is known as Donald Tsang Yam-Kuen.\\
Chinese given names may be one or two syllable affairs and may or may not be hyphenated. In some cases, the second syllable maps directly into the western idea of a "middle name". For some, the English given name may be a pet name and may not appear in formal documents. \\

To further complicate Japanese name transliterations, historical persons' (defined to be anyone born before the Meiji Restoration) names are not supposed to be swapped around, i.e. Tokugawa Ieyasu is Tokugawa Ieyasu in English, not Ieyasu Tokugawa (except in other Western languages besides English). Too bad that they forgot to tell this to the Japanese, who have a tendency to automatically swap name order in all names when writing them in the Latin alphabet, assuming that this is the correct way. \\

Vietnamese names generally follow East Asian traditions, with family name followed by given name, but because about 40% of the country shares the last name Nguyễn, newspapers will often refer to people by the second word of their given names, and this is the form used even in formal situations. Therefore, the Vietnamese prime minister, Nguyễn Tấn Dũng, is generally referred to as Mr Dũng despite the fact that Nguyễn is his family name.\\

Thai names usually follow the Western naming orders of given name + family name. However, Thais generally do not address each other using their family names, even in the most formal situations. Therefore, the current prime minister of Thailand, Yingluck Shinawatra is addressed as Ms Yingluck even though Shinawatra is the family name.\\
\\

Burmese names are generally simpler than their Western counterparts, using only given names with no family name, patronymic or matronymic. Therefore, in the cast of independence hero Aung San, that is his given name, and he has no family name or patronymic to go with it.

[[folder:Indian]]
Generally follow Western naming conventions and modes of address.\\

An exception would be Tamil names, as Tamils generally do no have family names. Tamil names typically go by the form given name + father's name, or father's initial + given name. Therefore, someone called Ramesh Ramaiah has the given name Ramesh, with Ramaiah being his father's name. He may also be known as R. Ramesh. Due to the patronymic nature of Tamil last names, first names are always used when addressing a person, even in formal situations. Therefore, in the above scenario, Ramesh Ramaiah will be addressed as Mr Ramesh.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Malay]]
Generally follow the pattern of given name + bin + father's name for men, and given name + binti + father's name for women. Due to the patronymic nature of the last name, first names are always used when addressing a person, even in formal situations. Therefore, the former Malaysian prime minister, Mahathir bin Mohamad, is addressed as Dr Mahathir.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Arabic]]
A full-blown Arabic name has, in the following order, an optional kunya (a reverse patronymic, or "teknonym", meaning "mother/father of"), an ism (a given name), a nasab (a patronymic or string of patronymics), a laqab (a descriptive, sort of like a nickname) and a nisba (a family laqab, closely approaching the European "family name"). Fortunately, most contemporary Arabs only use the given name and one or more patronymics on an everyday basis, with either a patronymic, an ancestor's laqab, or a nisba serving as a surname (patronymics being most common in eastern Arab countries like Egypt and Lebanon, while laqab and nisba use is most common in western Arab countries like Morocco). Some countries have adopted fully western conventions, and most use them for international documents, though westerners may be required to construct such a full name for internal documents, such as visa applications.\\

The order has not been static throughout history. Example: In the full name of the Arabic conqueror Saladin, "Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub", the laqab, 'Salah ad-Din', meaning "Righteousness of the Faith", comes first. The ism, 'Yusuf' comes next, then the nasab, 'ibn Ayyub'. Roughly translated to english, it's "Righteousness of the Faith, Joseph, son of Job."
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Hebrew]]
While most modern Jews have adopted Western-style surnames they historically used patronymics prefixed by ben-/bar- (son of) or bat- (daughter of) sometimes followed by the name of an ancient tribe of Israel. Such names are still used in religious ceremonies such as Bar and Bat Mitzvahs. An example is Paltiel Yeshai ben Pesach Yonah ha Kohen... or [given name], son of [father's given name], of the order of the Kohanim (Priestly Class of the Tribe of Levi). There are in theory eleven tribes and two half tribes plus the Priests, but many of the original tribes are assumed to be extinct and new ones created; vis ha Israel, ha Levi, ha Mizrahi, etc. Creation of new Hebrew names was commonplace after the founding of modern Israel in 1948; [[NaturalizedName ex-European Jews often created Hebrew versions of their old European names, or discarded them entirely in favor of patriotic Hebrew names]]. \\

While it seems to be a common practice in English-speaking countries for a boy to be given his father's given name as a middle name, it's customary to name a Jewish baby after a predeceased relative, typically an elder, except in the case of Sephardic Jews, who are more likely to name a baby after a ''living'' relative.

[[folder:Indonesian]]
Given that there are over 300 recognized ethnic groups in Indonesia, it's not surprising that there is considerable variance in naming conventions between groups. Some examples:
* Javanese people often only have single name, such as the former dictators Sukarno and Suharto. Javanese Christians will often have a baptismal name in addition to their single name, usually a Latin-derived name for Catholics or a contemporary English western name for Protestants. More recently, it's become increasingly common for Javanese to have surnames, which are often patronymics.
* Balinese (who are predominantly Hindu) will usually have a given name indicating which number sibling they are, and a surname indicating their caste.
* Muslims (the largest religious group in Indonesia) often use Arabic or Arabic-derived names.
* Recently, it has been popular to have a Western first name. Sometimes, this will be derived from the month that person was born (such as Yanuar for January, Febriyanto for February, and so on).
* Indonesians of Chinese descent used to use Chinese names, until they were forcibly assimilated to adopt "Indonesian" names under Suharto's rule. After these laws were repealed, some have kept those names, while others have reverted to using their Chinese names.
* The Minangkabau, the fourth-largest ethnic group in Indonesia, uses a matrilineal naming convention, and is the largest ethnic group in the world to do so.
* Other ethnic groups in Indonesia use patronymic and clan naming conventions.

In much of Western Europe and countries influenced by them (i.e. the USA and Canada) the standard is to have a Personal Name first and a patrilineal family name or surname last, with one or more middle names in between that are rarely used. In most cases women changed their surname to their husband's upon marriage, but there's something of a trend for women to [[TheMaidenNameDebate keep their "maiden" name]] or attach their husband's surname to their own with a hyphen.

From the 7th century B.C. to A.D. most Roman men had at least three names. A ''praenomen'' or personal name, a ''nomen gentilicium'' indicating membership in a ''gens'' or extended family/clan, and a ''cognomen'', which started as a second personal name but later became hereditary tied to specific lineages within a gens. For instance, [[UsefulNotes/JuliusCaesar Gaius Julius Caesar]] could be written in modern English as "Gaius of the Caesarian branch of the Julius family".

The Romans also used patronymics, or ''filliations'', to an extent, using their father's praenomen followed by ''filius'' (male) or ''fillia'' (female) between the nomen and cognomen. In addition the eldest son was traditionally given the same praenomen as his father.

For a brief time it was also common to include a Roman's voting tribe (''tribus'') in their name after the filliation and before the cognomen.

Adoption was commonplace among Patricians without biological sons as a means of continuing their family lines. In such cases the adopted son would take on his adoptive father's praenomen, nomen, and cognomen as with biological eldest sons and his original nomen would form the basis of a new surname. For instance, when Gaius Julius Caesar adopted his grand-nephew Gaius Octavius he became known as Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus.

Women originally had all the same names as men, but over the course of the Republic's reign, the female praenomen became less important in Roman society. More and more women were known simply by their nomen, especially after they marriage; as they kept their birth nomen and would usually become the only person in their husband's household with that nomen. By the Imperial era, it was largely only women with sisters in the same household who used praenomina.

Incidentally, the only European culture that places the family name first is the Hungarians. In general, people are addressed by their first names by personal friends, and by their last names in formal situations. Therefore, someone with the name John Andrew Smith will be addressed as John by his friends, and Mr Smith in formal situations.

UsefulNotes/{{Patronymic}} <given name> <father's given name (M: -sson or F: -sdottir>

Chinese - <family name> <given name>\\
Japanese - <family name> <given name>\\
Korean - <family name> <given name> - Korean given names consist of two syllables, usually hyphenated in the West. It is common for given include "generational name", one syllables shared by all siblings in a family (North Korea) or all members of same generation in extended family ( South Korea).

Hong Kong: If a person has a Western given name in addition to a Chinese one, then in English-language sources their full name order will be the Western given name, followed by the family name, followed by the Chinese given name. For example, the second Chief Executive Sir Yam-Kuen, or Donald, of the Tseng family, is known as Donald Tsang Yam-Kuen.

Chinese given names may be one or two syllable affairs and may or may not be hyphenated. In some cases, the second syllable maps directly into the western idea of a "middle name". For some, the English given name may be a pet name and may not appear in formal documents.

To further complicate Japanese name transliterations, historical persons' (defined to be anyone born before the Meiji Restoration) names are not supposed to be swapped around, i.e. Tokugawa Ieyasu is Tokugawa Ieyasu in English, not Ieyasu Tokugawa (except in other Western languages besides English). Too bad that they forgot to tell this to the Japanese, who have a tendency to automatically swap name order in all names when writing them in the Latin alphabet, assuming that this is the correct way.

Vietnamese names generally follow East Asian traditions, with family name followed by given name, but because about 40% of the country shares the last name Nguyễn, newspapers will often refer to people by the second word of their given names, and this is the form used even in formal situations. Therefore, the Vietnamese prime minister, Nguyễn Tấn Dũng, is generally referred to as Mr Dũng despite the fact that Nguyễn is his family name.

Thai names usually follow the Western naming orders of given name + family name. However, Thais generally do not address each other using their family names, even in the most formal situations. Therefore, the current prime minister of Thailand, Yingluck Shinawatra is addressed as Ms Yingluck even though Shinawatra is the family name.

Generally follow Western naming conventions and modes of address.

A full-blown Arabic name has, in the following order, an optional kunya (a reverse patronymic, or "teknonym", meaning "mother/father of"), an ism (a given name), a nasab (a patronymic or string of patronymics), a laqab (a descriptive, sort of like a nickname) and a nisba (a family laqab, closely approaching the European "family name"). Fortunately, most contemporary Arabs only use the given name and one or more patronymics on an everyday basis, with either a patronymic, an ancestor's laqab, or a nisba serving as a surname (patronymics being most common in eastern Arab countries like Egypt and Lebanon, while laqab and nisba use is most common in western Arab countries like Morocco). Some countries have adopted fully western conventions, and most use them for international documents, though westerners may be required to construct such a full name for internal documents, such as visa applications.

While most modern Jews have adopted Western-style surnames they historically used patronymics prefixed by ben-/bar- (son of) or bat- (daughter of) sometimes followed by the name of an ancient tribe of Israel. Such names are still used in religious ceremonies such as Bar and Bat Mitzvahs. An example is Paltiel Yeshai ben Pesach Yonah ha Kohen... or [given name], son of [father's given name], of the order of the Kohanim (Priestly Class of the Tribe of Levi). There are in theory eleven tribes and two half tribes plus the Priests, but many of the original tribes are assumed to be extinct and new ones created; vis ha Israel, ha Levi, ha Mizrahi, etc. Creation of new Hebrew names was commonplace after the founding of modern Israel in 1948; [[NaturalizedName ex-European Jews often created Hebrew versions of their old European names, or discarded them entirely in favor of patriotic Hebrew names]].

Chinese - <family name> <given name>
Japanese - <family name> <given name>

To further complicate Japanese name transliterations, historical persons' (defined to be anyone born before the Meiji Restoration) names are not supposed to be swapped around, ie. Tokugawa Ieyasu is Tokugawa Ieyasu in English, not Ieyasu Tokugawa (Except in other Western languages besides English). Too bad that they forgot to tell this to the Japanese who have a tendency to automatically swap name order in all names when writing them in the Latin alphabet, assuming that this is the correct way.

While it seems to have become a common thing in English-speaking countries for a boy to be given his father's given name as a middle name, it's customary to name a Jewish baby after a predeceased relative, typically an elder, except in the case of Sephardic Jews, who are more likely to name a baby for a living relative.

Given that there are over 300 recognized ethnic groups in Indonesia, there is considerable variance in naming conventions between groups. Some examples:
* Javanese people often only have single name, such as the former dictators Sukarno and Suharto. Javanese Christians will often have a baptismal name in addition to their single name.

* Recently, it has been popular to have a Western first name. Sometimes, this will be derived from the month that person was born.
* Indonesians of Chinese descent used to use Chinese names, until they were forcibly assimilated to adopt "Indonesian" names under Suharto's rule. Some have kept those names, while others have reverted to using Chinese names.
* Patronymic, matronymic, and clan naming conventions are used by some of the other ethnic groups.

[[folder:Irish]]
archaic <given name> <father's surnames> <grandfather's surnames> I.E. Séan son of Pól and grandson of Séamus would be known as "Seán Phóil Shéamuis".
[[/folder]]

UsefulNotes/RussianNamingConvention has its' own page. A UsefulNotes/{{Patronymic}} is involved in many. See FantasticNamingConvention for fictional examples.

[[AC:The Modern Western World]]

[[AC:Roman]]

[[AC:Spanish]]
Spanish people have two surnames: their father's first surname and their mother's first surname. For example, if your parents were Joe Lopez Mendez and your mother Jane Rodriguez Garcia, you would be Lopez Rodriguez. This leads to some people with the same two surnames as either parent, in cases where the mother's first surname is the father's second, or either/both parent(s) has a "doble" surname: Creator/SofiaVergara is one example of this, actually being Vergara Vergara. It has been found that you can now find whole extended families of Lopez Lopezes who just can't shake it. This includes for marriage: rarely do women take their husband's name (in Spain, at least, and this has been changing recently), instead adding "de [husband's first surname]" to the end of their own name. This form may seem like a patronymic (de meaning 'of'), but it does not. In some more traditional countries in Central America, particularly those with Eastern influence like UsefulNotes/{{Colombia}}, the naming heritage can go further: people will take surnames from their parents and then their grandmothers, great-grandmothers, etc, to show the family line going back generations: Music/{{Shakira}} is one example of a person with a OverlyLongName (the shortened version is Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, or Shakira Mebarak, not that you [[OnlyOneName need to know]]. In Spain, when it comes to women's given names, you'd be shamed if at least one of them wasn't a saint (male or female, doesn't matter) and another Maria and/or Ana. Also common, especially with older generations, is using Josefa (the female form of Joseph) as a succession to any of the given names, which is often written as an uppercase 'J' and a superscripted lowercase 'a' underscored by a tilde or line.

[[AC: Hungarian]]

[[AC:Lusitanic]]

[[AC:Icelandic]]

[[AC:Irish]]

[[AC: East Asian]]

[[AC: Indian]]

[[AC: Malay]]

[[AC: Arabic]]

[[AC: Hebrew]]

[[AC: Indonesian]]

* Patronymic, matronymic, and clan naming conventions are used by some of the other ethnic groups.

While most modern Jews have adopted Western-style surnames they historically used patronymics prefixed by ben-/bar- (son of) or bat- (daughter of) sometimes followed by the name of an ancient tribe of Israel. Such names are still used in religious ceremonies such as Bar and Bat Mitzvahs. An example is Paltiel Yeshai ben Pesach Yonah ha Kohen... or [given name], son of [father's given name], of the order of the Kohanim (Priestly Class of the Tribe of Levi). There are in theory eleven tribes and two half tribes plus the Priests, but many of the original tribes are assumed to be extinct and new ones created; vis ha Israel, ha Levi, ha Mizrahi, etc. Creation of new Hebrew names was commonplace after the founding of modern Israel in 1948; ex-European Jews often created Hebrew versions of their old European names, or discarded them entirely in favor of patriotic Hebrew names.

* Javanese people in Indonesia often only have single name, such as the leaders of that country Sukarno and Suharto. Javanese Christians will often have a baptismal name in addition to their single name.
* Balinese (who are predominantly Hindu) will have a given name indicating which number sibling they are, and a surname indicating their caste.

* Recently, it has been more common to have a Western first name. Sometimes, this will be derived from the month that person was born.

* Patronymic, matronymic, and clan names are used in some ethnic groups.

The order has not been static throughout history. Example: In the full name of the arabic conqueror Saladin, "Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub", the laqab, 'Salah ad-Din', meaning "Righteousness of the Faith", comes first. The ism, 'Yusuf' comes next, then the nasab, 'ibn Ayyub'. Roughly translated to english, it's "Righteousness of the Faith, Joseph, son of Job."

While most modern Jews have adopted Western-style surnames they historically used patronymics prefixed by ben-/bar- (son of) or bat- (daughter of) sometimes followed by the name of an ancient tribe of Israel. Such names are still used in religious ceremonies such as Bar and Bat Mitzvahs. An example is Paltiel Yeshai ben Pesach Yonah ha Kohen... or [given name], son of [father's given name], of the order of the Kohanim (Priestly Class of the Tribe of Levi). There are in theory 11 and 2 half tribes plus the Priests, but many of the original tribes are assumed to be extinct and new ones created; vis ha Israel, ha Levi, ha Mizrahi, etc. Creation of new Hebrew names was commonplace after the founding of modern Israel in 1948; ex-European Jews often created Hebrew versions of their old European names, or discarded them entirely in favor of patriotic Hebrew names.

[[AC:"Western"]]

Women originally had all the same names as men but over the course of the Republic's reign the female praenomen became less important in Roman society and more and more women were known simply by their nomen. Especially after they married as they kept their birth nomen and would usually become the only person in their husband's household with that nomen. By the Imperial era it was largely only women with sisters in the same household who used praenomina.

Many Jews have rather complex Hebrew names. An example is Paltiel Yeshai ben Pesach Yonah ha Kohen... or first name, middle name son of father's first and middle name, of the order of the Kohanim (Priestly Class of the Tribe of Levi). A female Jew would replace the 'ben' (son of) with 'bat' (daughter of). Some males will use the Aramaic 'bar' instead of 'ben'. There are in theory 11 and 2 half tribes plus the Priests, but many of the original tribes are assumed to be extinct and new ones created; vis ha Israel, ha Levi, ha Mizrahi, etc. Creation of new Hebrew names was commonplace after the founding of modern Israel in 1948; ex-European Jews often created Hebrew versions of their old European names, or discarded them entirely in favor of patriotic Hebrew names.

Most people from Western Europe and North America have a three-part name where the last name is shared with their paternal family, the first name is their main identifier, and the middle name (or names) seems to only be used [[FullNameUltimatum when their parents are mad at them]].

But that's not the only way it's done across the world.

Archaic <given name> <father's surnames> <grandfather's surnames> I.E. Séan son of Pól and grandson of Séamus would be known as "Seán Phóil Shéamuis".

Vietnamese names generally follow East Asian traditions, with family name followed by given name, but because about 40% of the country shares the last name Nguyễn, newspapers will often refer to people by the second word of their given names, and this is the form used even in formal situations. Therefore, the Vietnamese prime minister, Nguyễn Tấn Dũng, is generally referred to as Mr Dũng despite the fact that Nguyễn is his family name.