What are patronymics names?

Answer:
A patronymic is a name that tells who your father was.

With patronymics, if John has a son named James, James would be known as James Johnson. If James Johnson later had a son named Thomas, Thomas would be known as Thomas Jamesson, and so forth.

This system of naming is still the primary system in Iceland. It is used for religious ceremonial purposes by the Jews, who only adopted surnames in Eastern Europe during the19th century. It is also used in combination with surnames in Russia, where what looks to English speakers as a middle name is in fact a patronymic.

First answer by Pzavon. Last edit by Pzavon. Contributor trust: 759 [recommend contributor recommended]. Question popularity: 1 [recommend question].