Отчество: происхождение и использование имен по отцу

Component of a personal name based on the given name of one's male ancestor

A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic. Patronymics are used, by custom or official policy, in many countries worldwide, although elsewhere their use has been replaced by or transformed into patronymic surnames. Examples of such transformations include common English surnames such as Johnson (son of John).

The usual noun and adjective in English is patronymic, but as a noun this exists in free variation alongside patronym. The first part of the word patronym comes from Greek πατήρ patēr 'father' (GEN πατρός patros whence the combining form πατρο patro ); the second part comes from Greek ὄνυμα onyma, a variant form of ὄνομα onoma 'name'. In the form patronymic, this stands with the addition of the suffix ικός ( ikos), which was originally used to form adjectives with the sense 'pertaining to' (thus 'pertaining to the father's name'). These forms are attested in Hellenistic Greek as πατρώνυμος (patrōnymos) and πατρωνυμικός (patrōnymikos). The form patronym, first attested in English in 1834, was borrowed into English from French patronyme, which had previously borrowed the word directly from Greek. Patronymic, first attested in English in 1612, has a more complex history. Both Greek words had entered Latin, and, from Latin, French. The English form patronymic was borrowed through the mutual influence of French and Latin on English.

In many areas around the world, patronyms predate the use of family names. Family names in many Celtic, Germanic, Iberian, Scandinavian, Georgian, Armenian and Slavic languages originate from patronyms, e. g. Wilson (son of William), FitzGerald (son of Gerald), Powell (from "ap Hywel"), Fernández (son of Fernando), Rodríguez (son of Rodrigo), Andersson or Andersen (son of Anders, Scandinavian form of Andrew), Carlsen (son of Carl), Ilyin (of Ilya), Petrov (of Peter), Grigorovich (son of Grigory, Russian form of Gregory), Stefanović (son of Stefan, little Stefan), MacAllister (from "mac Alistair", meaning son of Alistair, anglicized Scottish form of Alexander) and O'Conor (from "Ó Conchobhair", meaning grandson/descendant of Conchobhar). Other cultures which formerly used patronyms have switched to the more widespread style of passing the father's last name to the children (and wife) as their own. In Iceland, family names are unusual; Icelandic law favours the use of patronyms (and more recently, matronyms) over family names.

Traditionally Muslim and non Arabic speaking African people, such as Hausa and Fulani people, usually (with some exceptions) follow the Arab naming pattern. The word or phrase meaning "son of" is, however, omitted. As such, Mohamed son of Ibrahim son of Ahmed is "Mohamed Ibrahim Ahmed", and Mohamed Ibrahim Ahmed's son Ali is "Ali Mohamed Ibrahim".

The naming convention used in Eritrea and Ethiopia does not have family names and surnames. If one is to refer to a person, it's with a single name and they will always use the person's given name. Ethiopians and Eritreans use a naming pattern very similar to the Arab naming pattern, but with one exception: no suffix or prefix. The full name of a person is usually two but officially registered with three names. The person's given name comes first, followed by their father's given name and (optionally, for official purposes) their grandfather's name last. For example, a person named Lemlem Mengesha Abraha has Lemlem as her given name, Mengesha (from her father's name) Abraha (grandfather's name). The grandfather's name is usually only added in official documents and not used in everyday life. The father's name is not considered a middle name but a last name, without it being a family name or surname. Women do not take their husband's last name. They continue to go independently by their given name, followed by their father's name, and then their grandfather's name, even after marriage. In both Ethiopia and Eritrea, a person is always addressed by their first name; for example Mrs. Lemlem or Dr. Lemlem.

Patronymic naming is very common in parts of Mozambique. Although the practice is not universal, patronymic naming has been documented in the Zambezia province.

Although not as prominent as during the pre colonial period, some Nigerians (particularly in the North) continue using patronymics — either as a middle name, as the first part of a hyphenated surname, or as a surname. An example of the use of patronymic middle names would be a man named Adamu Abdulkabiru Jibril — whereby "Adamu" would be his given first name, "Abdulkabiru" would be his father's given name as a patronymic middle name, and "Jibril" would be his hereditary family surname. Other people hyphenate their surname to include a patronymic, in which case the example would be named Adamu Abdulkabiru Jibril with "Abdulkabiru Jibril" acting as his surname. Using patronymics as the sole surname is also possible, with the example being named Adamu Abdulkabiru with "Abdulkabiru" acting as his surname.

Somalis use their paternal grandfather's given name as their legal surname for documentation purposes. They also use the term "ina" or "iña" meaning "the son of" or "the daughter of," which is similar to other African and Arab naming patterns. For example, the name "Ahmed Mohamed Ali Farah" means "Ahmed son of Mohamed son of Ali son of Farah." When stating one's lineage, one will say "Ahmed ina Mohamed" (meaning Ahmed, the son of Mohamed). To identify themselves and the sub clan they belong to, Somalis memorize their long lineage back to a common ancestor. Women never adopt their husband's patronym but keep their own for life.

Among the Zulu, patronymics were used in the pre colonial era. The prefix "ka" was attached to the father's name, for example Shaka kaSenzangakhona means Shaka son of Senzangakhona. The practice disappeared from everyday use with the introduction of the European style surname system but still remains part of traditional cultural practices, particularly in the case of chieftains and royalty where reciting lineages forms a part of many ceremonial occasions.

Atayal people's given names are followed by the name of their father; both son and daughter use patronymics. Amis people's sons’ given names are also followed by their father's name, while daughters’ given names are followed by their mother's name. By contrast, the Seediqs often get to choose which parent's name goes after their own.

Mongol people's names are preceded by the name of their father and possessive marker; both son and daughter are patronymics.

A patronymic is common in parts of India. For example, if a father is named Abram Sachin (a masculine name), he might name his son Ismail Abram, who in turn might name his son Patrick Ismail. As a result, unlike surnames, patronymics will not pass down through many generations. In Tamil Nadu and some parts of Kerala and South Karnataka, patronymy is predominant. This is a significant departure from the rest of the country where caste names are mostly employed as surnames. This came into common use during the 1950s and 1960s when the Dravidian movement campaigned against the use of one's caste as part of the name. However, rather than using the father's full name, only the first letter, popularly known as the initial, is prefixed to the given name. For example, if a person's given name is Nikhilesh and his father's Rajaraman, then the full name is R. Nikhilesh and is seldom expanded, even in official records. Only if absolutely necessary, such as when applying for an Indian passport, which does not usually allow initials, is the initial expanded and the name rendered in reverse order as "Nikhilesh Rajaraman" or sometime in the original order as "Rajaraman Nikhilesh". Some families follow the tradition of retaining the name of the hometown, the grandfather's name, or both as initials. The celebrated Indian English novelist R. K. Narayan's name at birth was Rasipuram Krishnaswami Ayyar Narayanaswami, which was shortened at the behest of his writer friend Graham Greene. Rasipuram is a toponym, and Krishnaswami Ayyar is a patronym. In Tamil Nadu, the use of initials and/or surname is the prerogative of the person, with no strict rules. The late chief minister Karunanidhi preferred to be referred to as M. Karunanidhi where the initial M stood for Muthuvel – his father's given name. M. Karunanidhi's son prefers to be referred to as M. K. Stalin incorporating both his father's and grandfather's names. However M. K. Stalin's son prefers to be referred to as Udhayanidhi Stalin, with Udhayanidhi as his given name and Stalin, his father's given name, as his surname rather than as an initial. Likewise, the cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin, whose father is named Ravichandran, prefers to be referred to as R. Ashwin or Ravichandran Ashwin. This is because commentators in sports often call players by their last names only. Since it would be incorrect to call him by his father's name, he puts his own given name at the end. Another growing trend is to expand the initials to reflect how they would sound in the native language. For example, Karuppiah prefers to be called Pala. Karuppiah instead of P. Karuppiah and Palaniappan prefers Karu. Palaniappan. Cinema director Ranjith prefers Pa. Ranjith instead of P. Ranjith as Pa sounds closer to the name in Tamil rather than P which sounds like Pe unlike the first syllable Pa. The scientist M. Annadurai would expand his name as Mayilsami Annadurai; however, he must be referred to as Annadurai since referring to him as Mayilsami would be referring to him with his father's given name. While the usage of caste names as surnames/last names is discouraged (but not banned) in Tamil Nadu, such usage by out of state people is greeted with indifference. So, Lakshmi Menon, Shilpa Shetty, etc. are referred by their preferred names which include their caste names. Likewise, old Tamil names with the caste in them are also fully used while referring to them such as Pasumpoan Muthuramalinga Thevar, U. Ve. Swaminatha Iyer, V. O Chidambaram Pillai etc. In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the naming pattern is a family name, given name and caste name in that order, but sometimesm the caste name is omitted. If a name appears like Alugupally Sudhir Reddy, Alugupally is the family name, Sudhir is the given name and Reddy is the caste name. If you find a name like Gorle Sunil Kumar, Gorle is the family name, and Sunil Kumar the given name. Here, the caste name is omitted. Of late, some people are writing their names in the order of given name, caste name, and family name. Sometimes, the caste name is omitted here too. It can be seen in names like Satyanarayana Bandi, where Satyanarayana is the given name, and Bandi the family name. In Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Gujarat, a very common convention among the Hindu communities is to have the patronymic as the middle name. Examples:

First Deputy Prime Minister and first Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's full name is Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel, where Jhaverbhai is his father's given name. Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar's full name is Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, where Ramesh is his father's given name. Cricketer Sunil Gavaskar's full name is Sunil Manohar Gavaskar, where Manohar is his father's given name. Sunil Gavaskar's son Rohan Gavaskar would be Rohan Sunil Gavaskar, and so on. India's 15th Prime Minister Narendra Modi famously took the oath of office as the Prime Minister of India as Narendra Damodardas Modi, wherein Damodardas is his father's given name. He prefers to write his full name, including his father's name as his middle name. This system works for both boys and girls, except that after marriage, a woman takes her husband's given name as her middle name – her new middle name is no longer a patronymic. East Slavic naming customs are similar, except that the suffix yevich, yevna, or something similar is used in a Russian language patronymic. Indians of the Muslim Isma'ili sect also have patronymic middle names that use the father's first name and the grandfather's first name plus a family name. Someone called "Ramazan Rahim Ali Manji" might call his son "Karim Ramazan Rahim Manji" and his granddaughter might be called "Zahra Karim Ramazan Manji".

Indians in Singapore and Malaysia, particularly those of Tamil descent, often continue the patronymic tradition. This entails having a single given name, followed by son/daughter of, followed by their father's name.

In Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, ethnic Malays and Indians generally follow the Arabic patronymic naming system of given name + bin/binti or son of/daughter of (often abbreviated SO/DO) + father's name. Non Muslim indigenous Malaysians in Sabah and Sarawak use the "anak" in place of bin/binti or SO/DO, "anak" being the Malay word for "child". However, not all Malays use patronymics, in Thailand they have adopted surnames, while in Indonesia they do not usually have either. Singaporean Indians use the abbreviations s/o (son of) or d/o (daughter of), while Malaysian Indians typically use the respective Malay variations "anak lelaki" (abbreviated a/l) or "anak perempuan" (abbreviated a/p). In some cases, individuals may opt to omit the patronymic indicator and abbreviate the patronymic for ease of usage. For example, a former deputy minister of Malaysia Pathmanaban a/l Kunjamboo was more commonly referred to as K. Pathmanaban and veteran Singaporean politicians Shanmugam Kasiviswanathan and Suppiah Dhanabalan went by K. Shanmugam and S. Dhanabalan respectively. The individual may opt not to include "son of" or "daughter of" in their legal name, as in the case of Shanmugam and Dhanabalan. In Brunei, the ruling family of the monarch uses given name + ibni + father's name instead of using bin/binti. In Indonesia, there are a number of ethnic groups with different naming systems. The Batak of North Sumatra (Sumatra Utara) give every child the family's name. Sometimes the family's name is prefixed by Huta , Batu , etc., but most use Si , such as Sitanggang, Sihombing, Sibutar butar, Sinaga, or Sitohang. The family's name is given from the father's family. For example, if the father's name is Boggi Sinaga who married Moetia Siregar then all children will be given the family's name of Sinaga. In Sunda, a similar cultural rule is used to that of the Batak. The family's name for Sunda is Wijaya, but that is not true for all Sundanese families.

The use of patronymics was introduced in Armenia by Russians during the times of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. Before that period, the use of patronymics was very limited. Patronymics are usually formed by the addition of "i" ("of", pronounced as ee) to the father's name, e. g. if the father's name is "Armen", the corresponding patronymic would be "Armeni" (of Armen). The Russified version of the same patronymic would be "Armenovich" for males and "Armenovna" for females. After Armenia regained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 there was a massive decline in the use of Russified patronymics; nowadays few Armenians use patronymics outside of official contexts. Many Armenian surnames were once patronymics first used by distant ancestors or clan founders. These are characterized by the suffix " ian" in Western Armenian, often transliterated as " yan" in Eastern Armenian. These are appended to the given name, i. e. Kardashian, Asdvadzadourian, Tankian, Hagopian, Khachadourian, Mardirosian, Bedrosian, Sarkissian, etc. Note that the suffix " ian" was also appended to trades, as in Adakhtsakordzian (issued from the carpenter), Chalian (issued from the candlemaker), Darbinian (issued from the smith). Of particular note are the surnames of the children of married priests, or kahanas. Though not as common nowadays, it was customary for a long time for these children (particularly the sons) to change their last names to the name in religion of their father. For example, the son of Ter (Reverend) Bartev would change his last name to Ter Bartevian.

In Azeri, patronymics are formed through oğlu (sometimes transliterated as ogly) for males and qızı (often transliterated as gizi or kizi) for females. Before the late 19th–early 20th century, patronymics were used as an essential part of a person's full name, i. e. Sərdar İlyas oğlu ("Sardar, son of Ilyas") and Mina Nebi qızı ("Mina, daughter of Nabi"), since surnames were mostly non existent before Sovietization (with the exception of the upper and some middle class families). After surnames were commonly adopted in Azerbaijan in the 1920s, patronymics still remained parts of full names, i. e. Sardar Ilyas oğlu Aliyev ("Sardar Aliyev, son of Ilyas"). Nowadays in Azerbaijan, patronymics sometimes replace surnames in unofficial use. Normally in such case, they are spelled as one word (i. e. Eldar Mammadoğlu, Sabina Yusifqızı). Many Azeri surnames are also derived from Persian style patronymics ending in zadeh (Kazimzadeh, Mehdizadeh, etc.). They are found among both Caucasian and Iranian Azeris. However, unlike the former, Azeris in Iran do not generally use patronymics in oglu / qizi. Azeri patronymics are not to be confused with Turkish surnames in oğlu and Greek surnames in ογλού ( oglou), which do not have specific female versions and do not reflect names of fathers.

A common feature of historical Semitic names is use of a patronymic system. Since ancient times, men and women have been named using this system. This was not limited to any certain region or religion. It was only in the 17th and 18th centuries when laws were put in place in European nations demanded that those of Semitic descent abandoned the patronymic naming scheme in favor of consistent legal surnames. It was only after these laws were ratified that most of the Jews and Muslims in these nations received surnames.

In Arabic, the word (ابن or بن: , and sometimes and to show the grammatical case of the noun) is the equivalent of the " son" suffix discussed above. In addition, (بنت) means "daughter of". Thus, for example, means "Ali son of ʿAmr". In Classical Arabic, the word is written as between two names, since the case ending of the first name then supplies a vowel. is often written as , as is often written as , in name formulas rendered from Arabic into Roman characters. Thus Hisham ibn al Kalbi is alternatively written as However, the pronunciation is dialectal and has nothing to do with either the spelling or pronunciation in Classical Arabic. The word ( or in different grammatical cases) means "father of", so is another name for In Northwest Africa, the patronymic is romanized as , reflecting local pronunciation as filtered by French or Spanish. See for example (أحمد بن بلّة). In medieval times, an illegitimate child of unknown parentage would sometimes be termed , "son of his father" (notably Ziyad ibn Abihi.) In the Qur'an, Jesus (Isa in Arabic) is consistently termed – a matronymic (in the Qur'an, Jesus has no father; see Islamic view of Jesus). An Arabic patronymic can be extended as far back as family tree records will allow: thus, for example, Ibn Khaldun gave his own full name as
Patronymics are still standard in parts of the Arab world, notably Saudi Arabia and Iraq. (In the case of Iraq, with the omitted or .) However, some of the Arab world has switched to a family name system. As in English, the new family names are sometimes based on what was formerly a patronymic. The form most used in the Arab world is the usage of both the patronymic and a family name, often using both the father's and paternal grandfathers given name in sequence after the own given name, and then the family name. In Iraq for example, full names are formed by combining the given name of an individual with the given name of their father (sometimes the father is skipped and the paternal grandfather's given name is used instead, sometimes both father and paternal grandfather are used), along with the town, village, or clan name. For instance, Hayder Muhammed al Tikriti is the son of Muhammed named Hayder, and he is from the town of Tikrit. In Saudi Arabia, naming conventions are similar to Iraq's but family names are used much more often.

In Aramaic, the prefix bar means "son" and is used as a prefix meaning "son of". In the Bible, Peter is called Bar Jonah in Matthew 16:17 and Nathanael is possibly called Bartholomew because he is the son of Tolmai (or son of Ptolemy, with "P" being reduced). The titles can also be figurative, for example in Acts 4:36–37 a man named Joseph is called Barnabas meaning "son of consolation". The feminine equivalent, b'rat , is found in the Targumim. Mandaean names also often make use of the prefix bar .

In the Hebrew patronymic system, commonly used by Jews, the first name is followed by either ben or bat ("son of" and "daughter of", respectively), and then the father's name, mother's name, or both.

The Assyrians for centuries have used the patronymic bet or bit literally meaning "house" in Assyrian Neo Aramaic; however, in the context of the name it means "from the house of [the father's name]."

In Persian, patronymics پَسوَند are formed by names ending with the suffix " pur" پور for men and " dokht" دُخت for women. For example: Shahpur (son of king) and Sinapur (son of Sina). Depending on country, some suffixes are more common than others. For example, in Iran, the suffix " pur" is common while in Afghanistan, the suffix " Zadah" زاده or " Zad" زاد is common, although Zadeh is common in Iran.

In Turkish, the suffixes used to indicate paternal ancestry are oğlu and zade, which indicate the ancestry as coming from a certain man. Like many other patronymics in other languages, with the formalization of naming conventions by laws in the late modern contemporary age many turned into surnames. After the 'Surname revolution' in 1934, many people chose professions or habitat as surnames with or without the suffix oğlu, such as Elbeyioğlu, Bakkaloğlu or Giritlioğlu and with zade such as Beyzade, Mehmedzade, Yusufzade.

In Kurdish Language, generally, a triple name system is used which is patronymic and avonymic. That is the name of the individual followed by the father's name and the paternal grandfather's name without any modification of the names and are completely gender neutral. This style of naming is used in all official documentation in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region. Surnames are not officially used and most people do not even have a surname or family name, those who do, they usually derive their surnames from the name of their place of birth, place of origin, clan or tribe names, etc. The Kurdish names in Turkey, Iran and Syria are heavily influenced by the official naming systems in the respective countries.

In Europe, patronyms were formerly widespread but later became confined to Scandinavia, Iceland, and some Eastern Slavic cultures.

In England, names ending with the suffix " son" or " ing" were often originally patronymic. In addition, the archaic French (more specifically, Norman) prefix fitz (cognate with the modern French fils, meaning "son") appears in England's aristocratic family lines dating from the Norman Conquest, and also among the Anglo Irish. Thus there are names such as Fitzgerald and Fitzhugh. Of particular interest is the name Fitzroy, meaning "son of [the] king" (roy), which was sometimes used by illegitimate royal children.

The use of "Mac" in some form was prevalent in Scottish Gaelic, Irish, and Manx, in all of which it denotes "son." "Mc" is also a frequent anglicisation in both Scotland and Ireland. In Ireland, the forms "Mag" and "M'" are encountered. The prefix "Mac" is used to form a patronym, such as "Mac Coinnich"—or the anglicized "Mackenzie"—son of Coinneach/Kenneth. The female equivalent of Mac is Nic, condensed from nighean mhic (in Scottish Gaelic) or iníon mhic (in Irish), both meaning daughter. For example, the Scottish Gaelic surname, Nic Dhòmhnaill meaning "daughter of a son of Dòmhnall" (in English, Donald), as in Mairi Nic Dhòmhnaill, or Mary MacDonald. At the north end of the Irish Sea, in Ulster, the Isle of Man, and Galloway (indeed as far north as Argyll), "Mac" was frequently truncated in speech to /k/. This led to such anglicisations as "Qualtrough" (Son of Walter) and "Quayle" (son of Paul, cf. MacPhail), usually beginning with "C," "K," or "Q." In Ireland, this truncation resulted in surnames such as "Guinness" (son of Aonghus, cf. MacAonghusa), beginning usually in "C" or "G" for patronymics prefixed with Mac, and in "H" (e. g., "Hurley" [descendant of Iarlath, cf. Ua h Iarfhlatha/O'Hurley]) for surnames prefixed with "O." Colloquial Scottish Gaelic also has other patronymics of a slightly different form for individuals, still in use (for more information please see: Scottish Gaelic personal naming system).

Before the 1536 Act of Union, the Welsh did not generally employ surnames, but instead used epithets (e. g. Selyf Sarffgadau, "Selyf the Battle Serpent"), patronyms (e. g. Rhodri ap Merfyn, "Rhodri son of Merfyn"), and (much less often) matronyms (e. g. Rhodri map Nest, "Rhodri son of Nest") to identify people. Welsh, as a P Celtic language, originally used map or mab instead of the Q Celtic mac employed in Ireland and Scotland. These were later simplified to the modern Welsh ap and ab. A common practice is to use mab/ab before a father's name beginning with a vowel (e. g., Llywelyn mab Iorwerth), but the two alternative forms are also employed arbitrarily in many sources. Daughters were indicated by ferch or verch (mutated from merch, "girl, daughter"). Angharad verch Owain would be "Angharad, daughter of Owain". After the Acts of Union, this led to many Welsh surnames being variants of their father or ancestor's personal name: ap or ab Ieuan often became "Evans"; ap Rhys, "Price"; ap or ab Owain, "Bowen"; ap Hywel, "Powell" or "Howell". In addition to these Anglicised baptismal and official names, patronyms continued to be commonly employed in Welsh until the Industrial Revolution, particularly in the north and west of Wales. Patronyms were sometimes employed within the English names as well by using the father's personal name as the sons' middle name. Perhaps because Cornwall was legally incorporated into England earlier than Wales was, patronyms (e. g.[m]ap Ros>Rouse, [m]ap Richard>Pritchard, Davies, Evans) are less common there than toponyms (e. g. Tresillian, Trevithick, Nanskeval/Nankeville) and occupational surnames (e. g. An Gof, [An] Gove, (Blacksmith); Helyer (Cornish dialect – possibly a slater or huntsman (helgher)).

In Dutch, patronymics were often used in place of family names or as middle names. Patronymics were composed of the father's name plus an ending zoon for sons, dochter for daughters. For instance, Abel Janszoon Tasman is "Abel son of Jan Tasman", and Kenau Simonsdochter Hasselaer: "Kenau, daughter of Simon Hasselaer". In written form, these endings were often abbreviated as sz. and dr. respectively e. g. Jeroen Cornelisz. "Jeroen son of Cornelis", or Dirck Jacobsz. The endings s, se and sen were also commonly used for sons and often for daughters too. In the northern provinces, s, as genitive case, was almost universally used for both sons and daughters. The suffix x as in "Tacx" or "Hendrix" also denoted the son or daughter of and is now integrated as a complete name. Patronymics were common in the Dutch United Provinces until the French invasion in 1795 and subsequent annexation in 1810. As the Netherlands were now a province of France, a registry of births, deaths and marriages was established in 1811, whereupon emperor Napoleon forced the Dutch to register and adopt a distinct surname.

In France, the terms patronyme and nom patronymique had long been used interchangeably to designate the family name, meaning that it is inherited from the father. The tradition of patronymic lineage is still used among some Canadian descendants of French colonists: in the oral tradition of many Acadians, for example, Marc à Pierre à Gérard (lit. "Marc of Pierre of Gérard"), means "Marc, son of Pierre, grandson of Gérard".

The Italian language used to designate patronymics in formal writing up to 1975 using the preposition di (English of) for a living father and fu (English late) for a deceased one. That is, Mario di Giovanni Rossi meant that Mario Rossi is the son of a living man named Giovanni; Francesco fu Pietro Verdi meant that Francesco Verdi is the son of a deceased man named Pietro. When the father's name was unknown, institutions could use the formula N. N. (Nomen nescio, Latin for "I don't know the name") or use the mother's name or omit this part entirely. In parish records written in Latin, the father's name would be written in genitive with no preposition. For a deceased father, the particle quondam (English once/formerly) was added. The examples above would have been translated as Marius Johannis Rossi and Franciscus quondam Petri Verdi. Patronymics are not in common usage in modern Italian. However, some of them have been the source of various surnames. As an example, the individuals descended from a man named Paolo could have gained the patronymic surnames Paolo, Di Paolo, De Paoli, Paoli, Polo, Pagolo, Pagoli, Paolino, Lino, etc.