Btw why are there only like 2 rabbis we refer to with Greek patronymics? And why are they so iconic that Jews associate Greek patronymics with rabbiness?
September 29, 2026 at 4:15 PM
Btw why are there only like 2 rabbis we refer to with Greek patronymics? And why are they so iconic that Jews associate Greek patronymics with rabbiness?
/2 ..so particularly with cultures with patronymics or similar structures every dude would be listed like some international hit man or something. The core DNA of the feds is very Johnny Whitebread.
June 16, 2026 at 5:34 PM
/2 ..so particularly with cultures with patronymics or similar structures every dude would be listed like some international hit man or something. The core DNA of the feds is very Johnny Whitebread.
Please include a cascade of patronymics until your name is unique.
— The Sages
— The Sages
Next up: your first name must contain a number and a special character.
May 27, 2026 at 9:50 PM
Please include a cascade of patronymics until your name is unique.
— The Sages
— The Sages
A completely unserious note, the NYT's archaic naming style is even funnier when they treat Slavic patronymics as middle names
September 12, 2025 at 7:06 PM
A completely unserious note, the NYT's archaic naming style is even funnier when they treat Slavic patronymics as middle names
and then there's East Slavic people with patronymics which also aren't "middle names"
April 8, 2025 at 8:59 PM
and then there's East Slavic people with patronymics which also aren't "middle names"
I've known patch note hyperbole youtubers with more integrity.
Unreadable, sure. Maybe. If you've picked up a terrible translation, or you can't handle Russian patronymics (apparently many such cases)
Unreadable, sure. Maybe. If you've picked up a terrible translation, or you can't handle Russian patronymics (apparently many such cases)
April 10, 2026 at 11:37 AM
I've known patch note hyperbole youtubers with more integrity.
Unreadable, sure. Maybe. If you've picked up a terrible translation, or you can't handle Russian patronymics (apparently many such cases)
Unreadable, sure. Maybe. If you've picked up a terrible translation, or you can't handle Russian patronymics (apparently many such cases)
Also ALSO the name change discussion, it is SUPER NORMAL for folks in my ethnoculture to have multiple names. Between areas with patronymics, group names, family names, and situations like mine where I have multiple names bc they thought I might die so it's time to confuse death, STUFF HAPPENS.
October 14, 2025 at 12:51 AM
Also ALSO the name change discussion, it is SUPER NORMAL for folks in my ethnoculture to have multiple names. Between areas with patronymics, group names, family names, and situations like mine where I have multiple names bc they thought I might die so it's time to confuse death, STUFF HAPPENS.
Looking forward to Welsh Reformers continuing to learn, again and again, that making fun of Welsh patronymics on social media makes a lot of Welsh anglophones immediately get defensively patriotic about them
May 14, 2026 at 12:41 PM
Looking forward to Welsh Reformers continuing to learn, again and again, that making fun of Welsh patronymics on social media makes a lot of Welsh anglophones immediately get defensively patriotic about them
This has been going on in my phone contacts for a while, but parenting a toddler has really upped my speed running the history of last names
Mostly occupation/location surnames (Amy Babysitter, Kim Swim Class) and reverse patronymics (Mike Lila's Dad) @gretchenmcc.bsky.social is this documented?
Mostly occupation/location surnames (Amy Babysitter, Kim Swim Class) and reverse patronymics (Mike Lila's Dad) @gretchenmcc.bsky.social is this documented?
December 15, 2025 at 2:42 PM
This has been going on in my phone contacts for a while, but parenting a toddler has really upped my speed running the history of last names
Mostly occupation/location surnames (Amy Babysitter, Kim Swim Class) and reverse patronymics (Mike Lila's Dad) @gretchenmcc.bsky.social is this documented?
Mostly occupation/location surnames (Amy Babysitter, Kim Swim Class) and reverse patronymics (Mike Lila's Dad) @gretchenmcc.bsky.social is this documented?
I blame Henry 8th. He wanted us Welsh to have surnames like the English, so insisted on formalising names. Before him, we mostly called ourselves by patronymics, eg ap (son of) or ferch (daughter of).
But then it became fashionable to drop that. Hence SO many Jones', Evans', and Williams'.
But then it became fashionable to drop that. Hence SO many Jones', Evans', and Williams'.
December 1, 2024 at 5:37 PM
I blame Henry 8th. He wanted us Welsh to have surnames like the English, so insisted on formalising names. Before him, we mostly called ourselves by patronymics, eg ap (son of) or ferch (daughter of).
But then it became fashionable to drop that. Hence SO many Jones', Evans', and Williams'.
But then it became fashionable to drop that. Hence SO many Jones', Evans', and Williams'.
Personally I’d probably start with Roman naming conventions, and maybe the evolution of patronymics. Work from there.
June 18, 2025 at 11:04 PM
Personally I’d probably start with Roman naming conventions, and maybe the evolution of patronymics. Work from there.
No one's allowed patronymics with a 6k wordcount either. Either you know who Láeg is without the "mac Ríangabra" or you cope.
February 6, 2025 at 10:55 PM
No one's allowed patronymics with a 6k wordcount either. Either you know who Láeg is without the "mac Ríangabra" or you cope.
so some of them were older names and then some were like 'Mr Olympicchampion' and 'Mr Space' (for Mongolia's only astronaut. in practice people tend to use the patronymics introduced in the Soviet period anyway
March 12, 2024 at 7:48 PM
so some of them were older names and then some were like 'Mr Olympicchampion' and 'Mr Space' (for Mongolia's only astronaut. in practice people tend to use the patronymics introduced in the Soviet period anyway
Rabbit-hole alert: I realized now that in parts of Lita corresponding to modern Belarus, -ovsky/-owski is yet another cheat for turning patronymics into surnames.
Yudkowsky implies the existence of a town "Yudkov" which never existed (work it out)
Yudkowsky implies the existence of a town "Yudkov" which never existed (work it out)
Eliezer Yudkowsky means “God has saved, of Judah” c'mon
November 20, 2025 at 3:44 AM
Rabbit-hole alert: I realized now that in parts of Lita corresponding to modern Belarus, -ovsky/-owski is yet another cheat for turning patronymics into surnames.
Yudkowsky implies the existence of a town "Yudkov" which never existed (work it out)
Yudkowsky implies the existence of a town "Yudkov" which never existed (work it out)
do I know any queer Russian speakers? or, I suppose, queer people from anywhere that uses Slavic-style patronymics? I'm trying to figure out what nonbinary/genderqueer/etc people do for their patronymics, and search engine results have been wildly unhelpful
July 10, 2026 at 11:00 PM
do I know any queer Russian speakers? or, I suppose, queer people from anywhere that uses Slavic-style patronymics? I'm trying to figure out what nonbinary/genderqueer/etc people do for their patronymics, and search engine results have been wildly unhelpful
I need to make sure you understand this: in the *20th century* ad-hoc patronymics were becoming surnames in the Old Yishuv just because
September 8, 2026 at 2:39 AM
I need to make sure you understand this: in the *20th century* ad-hoc patronymics were becoming surnames in the Old Yishuv just because
One of those things where people who've revived the patronymics absolutely get teased, so you can see why they think it will work, but if there's any hint of it coming from an outsider perspective it will not go well
May 14, 2026 at 12:56 PM
One of those things where people who've revived the patronymics absolutely get teased, so you can see why they think it will work, but if there's any hint of it coming from an outsider perspective it will not go well
BUT, more urbanized societies (at least in the West) tend to have surnames, which become the more common way of distinguishing people, whereas e.g. the Anglo-Saxons or Carolingians or early Irish get by with single names, patronymics, and epithets.
April 19, 2026 at 2:46 AM
BUT, more urbanized societies (at least in the West) tend to have surnames, which become the more common way of distinguishing people, whereas e.g. the Anglo-Saxons or Carolingians or early Irish get by with single names, patronymics, and epithets.
Which is also where the surnames "Price," "Pugh," "Parry/Perry," "Pritchard," "Prodger/Prosser," and "Powell" come from.
Welsh names would often have patronymics (Like Mac, Mc, O') in the form of "Ap." Rhys ap Hywell is Rhys, son of Hywell. That gets anglicized as "Rhys Powell."
Welsh names would often have patronymics (Like Mac, Mc, O') in the form of "Ap." Rhys ap Hywell is Rhys, son of Hywell. That gets anglicized as "Rhys Powell."
November 20, 2023 at 6:18 PM
Which is also where the surnames "Price," "Pugh," "Parry/Perry," "Pritchard," "Prodger/Prosser," and "Powell" come from.
Welsh names would often have patronymics (Like Mac, Mc, O') in the form of "Ap." Rhys ap Hywell is Rhys, son of Hywell. That gets anglicized as "Rhys Powell."
Welsh names would often have patronymics (Like Mac, Mc, O') in the form of "Ap." Rhys ap Hywell is Rhys, son of Hywell. That gets anglicized as "Rhys Powell."
It’s time for your Three Random Words from next week’s episode “The Valiant” with John Boeren (@antecedentia.com)
1. Orange
2. Lightning
3. Patronymics
Available from 27th May.
#genealogy #ancestry #FamilyHistory #podcast
1. Orange
2. Lightning
3. Patronymics
Available from 27th May.
#genealogy #ancestry #FamilyHistory #podcast
May 25, 2025 at 11:39 AM
It’s time for your Three Random Words from next week’s episode “The Valiant” with John Boeren (@antecedentia.com)
1. Orange
2. Lightning
3. Patronymics
Available from 27th May.
#genealogy #ancestry #FamilyHistory #podcast
1. Orange
2. Lightning
3. Patronymics
Available from 27th May.
#genealogy #ancestry #FamilyHistory #podcast
living side by side using "Balshem" as an unofficial surname - the families of Hersh Israelovich and Yechiel Boruchovich (these are the Baal Shem Tov's son and son-in-law respectively, to those unfamiliar with the names or thrown off by the Russian patronymics)
March 11, 2026 at 2:44 PM
living side by side using "Balshem" as an unofficial surname - the families of Hersh Israelovich and Yechiel Boruchovich (these are the Baal Shem Tov's son and son-in-law respectively, to those unfamiliar with the names or thrown off by the Russian patronymics)
It's such a goofy idea on its face to think that the lives of every American teenager would be especially enriched by literary accounts of life in 19th century Europe. "We can't learn about pronouns, kids, but we need to memorize Russian patronymics!"
June 25, 2026 at 12:49 PM
It's such a goofy idea on its face to think that the lives of every American teenager would be especially enriched by literary accounts of life in 19th century Europe. "We can't learn about pronouns, kids, but we need to memorize Russian patronymics!"
My third time speaking for the good people of the Northamptonshire Battlefields Society - there are few societies more learned or professionally run 🙏🏾
Teaching English people how Welsh patronymics work is my bag. Let's say it all together now, Owain ap Maredudd ap Tudur!
Teaching English people how Welsh patronymics work is my bag. Let's say it all together now, Owain ap Maredudd ap Tudur!
March 27, 2025 at 10:40 PM
My third time speaking for the good people of the Northamptonshire Battlefields Society - there are few societies more learned or professionally run 🙏🏾
Teaching English people how Welsh patronymics work is my bag. Let's say it all together now, Owain ap Maredudd ap Tudur!
Teaching English people how Welsh patronymics work is my bag. Let's say it all together now, Owain ap Maredudd ap Tudur!
this whole article is such an embarrassing self-own but i can't help but fixate on the fact that she is apparently referring to people by their patronymics which is not actually the appropriate or polite way to address an icelander and in fact makes her look very culturally ignorant
she even tries to get something out of the secretary of the Bishop of Iceland. Surely she will take her side?
Nope: Trans people are valid and Jesus stood with marginalized people.
Nope: Trans people are valid and Jesus stood with marginalized people.
March 28, 2026 at 12:36 PM
this whole article is such an embarrassing self-own but i can't help but fixate on the fact that she is apparently referring to people by their patronymics which is not actually the appropriate or polite way to address an icelander and in fact makes her look very culturally ignorant
Middle name culture is interesting. In America it's a second given name. In some Catholic countries it's your confirmation name. Here we mimic the Spanish and use our mother's maiden names, but in the American format. Yall use patronymics.
August 12, 2026 at 12:25 AM
Middle name culture is interesting. In America it's a second given name. In some Catholic countries it's your confirmation name. Here we mimic the Spanish and use our mother's maiden names, but in the American format. Yall use patronymics.