Teknonymy (from grc-gre, τέκνον, "child" and grc-gre, ὄνομα, label=none, "name"), is the practice of referring to

parent A parent is a caregiver of the offspring in their own species. In humans, a parent is the caretaker of a child (where "child" refers to offspring, not necessarily age). A ''biological parent'' is a person whose gamete resulted in a child, a male t ...

s by the names of their children. This practice can be found in many different cultures around the world. The term was coined by anthropologist

Edward Burnett Tylor Sir Edward Burnett Tylor (2 October 18322 January 1917) was an English anthropologist, and professor of anthropology. Tylor's ideas typify 19th-century cultural evolutionism. In his works ''Primitive Culture'' (1871) and ''Anthropology'' (1 ...

in an 1889 paper. Such names are called teknonyms, teknonymics, or paedonymics. Teknonymy can be found in: * Various

Austronesian peoples The Austronesian peoples, sometimes referred to as Austronesian-speaking peoples, are a large group of peoples in Taiwan, Maritime Southeast Asia, Micronesia, coastal New Guinea, Island Melanesia, Polynesia, and Madagascar that speak Austro ...

: ** The

Cocos Malays Cocos Malays are a community that form the predominant group of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, which is now a part of Australia. Today, most of the Cocos Malay can be found in the eastern coast of Sabah, Malaysia, because of diaspora originatin ...

Cocos (Keeling) Islands ) , anthem = "''Advance Australia Fair''" , song_type = , song = , image_map = Australia on the globe (Cocos (Keeling) Islands special) (Southeast Asia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands , map_caption = ...

, where parents are known by the name of their first-born child. For instance, a man named Hashim and his wife, Anisa, have a daughter named Sheila. Hashim is now known as "Pak Sheila" (literally, "Sheila's Father") and Anisa is now known as "Mak Sheila" (literally, "Sheila's Mother"). ** Balinese people ** Dayak and related indigenous peoples of

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and ea ...

, like the

Penan The Penan are a nomadic indigenous people living in Sarawak and Brunei, although there is only one small community in Brunei; among those in Brunei half have been converted to Islam, even if only superficially. Penan are one of the last such pe ...

** The

Betsileo people The Betsileo are a highland ethnic group of Madagascar, the third largest in terms of population. They chose their name, meaning "The Many Invincible Ones", after a failed invasion by King Ramitraho of the Menabe kingdom in the early 19th centu ...

of Madagascar, in particular the

Zafimaniry The Zafimaniry are a sub-group of the Betsileo ethnic group of Madagascar. They live in the forested mountains of the southern central highlands southeast of Ambositra, between the neighboring Betsileo and Tanala peoples. There are approximate ...

subgroup ** the language of the Madurese people of Indonesia ** the

Mentawai people Mentawai (also known as Mentawei and Mentawi) people are the native people of the Mentawai Islands (principally Siberut, Sipura, North Pagai and South Pagai) about 100 miles from West Sumatra province, Indonesia. They live a semi-nomadic hunt ...

of Indonesia **

Tao people The Tao people are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the tiny outlying Orchid Island of Taiwan. They have a maritime culture, with great ritual and spiritual significance placed on boat-building and fishing. Their ways of life have been th ...

of Taiwan * the

Korean language Korean ( South Korean: , ''hangugeo''; North Korean: , ''chosŏnmal'') is the native language for about 80 million people, mostly of Korean descent. It is the official and national language of both North Korea and South Korea (geographic ...

; for example, if a Korean woman has a child named Su-min, she might be called ''Su-min Eomma'' (meaning "mother of Su-min") *

Chinese language Chinese (, especially when referring to written Chinese) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and many minority ethnic groups in Greater China. About 1.3 billion people (or approximately 16% of the ...

has similar but also very flexible phenomenon. Suppose a boy's nickname at home is “二儿” (Er'er), then the father of the child can call the child's mom as "他妈"/"孩儿他妈"/"二儿他妈", meaning "his mom"/"child's mom"/"Er'er's mom," respectively. Similar applies to the boy's mom calling her husband (i.e. the boy's dad) by changing "妈" (mom) to "爸/爹" (dad). This usage is mostly used between the parents of the kid, but can also be used in some limited scenarios, e.g. the child's teacher calling the child's parents. * the

Arab world The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...

; for example, if a Saudi man named Hasan has a male child named Zayn, Hasan will now be known as ''Abu Zayn'' (literally, "Father of Zayn"). Similarly, ''Umm Malik'' (Malik is a name used for males) is "Mother of Malik". This is known as a '' kunya'' in Arabic and is used as a sign of respect for others. * Amazonia * the

Zuni language Zuni (also formerly Zuñi, endonym ''Shiwiʼma'') is a language of the Zuni people, indigenous to western New Mexico and eastern Arizona in the United States. It is spoken by around 9,500 people, especially in the vicinity of Zuni Pueblo, New M ...

* Swahili, as spoken in Tanzania and Kenya; for example, if a woman has a son named Musa, the woman would be known as ''Mama Musa''. Musa's father would be known as ''Baba Musa''. * to some extent,

Habesha people am, ሐበሻ, አበሻ, translit=Häbäša, 'äbäša ti, ሓበሻ, translit=Ḥabäša , regions = , languages = Ethiopian Semitic languages , religions = Predominantly Oriental Orthodox Christianity (Orthodox Te ...

in the Horn of Africa * the

Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...

language of Western Africa; for example, if a woman has a son named

Femi Fẹ́mi is a common Nigerian given unisex name of Yoruba origin which means "love Me". Femi is most commonly a diminutive form of "Olufemi" (or Olúfẹ́mi) which means "The Lord loves me" ("Olú" means Lord, Leader, or the "Prominent one," in the ...

, will now be known as ''iya Femi'' (meaning mother of Femi) and her husband ''baba Femi'' (meaning father of Femi). *the Hausa language of Africa; for example, if a man has a son named Adam, the man will be known as Baban Adam, while his wife would be called Maman Adam. *the

Nupe people The Nupe (traditionally called the ''Nupawa'' by the Hausas and ''Tapa'' by the neighbouring Yoruba) are an ethnic group native to the Middle Belt of Nigeria. They are the dominant ethnic group in Niger State and a minority in Kwara State. T ...

of Nigeria; for example, if a man has a son named Isyaku, he will be known as Baba Isyaku, whereas his wife would be called Nna Isyaku. * Bangladeshi people

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* {{Personal names Family Onomastics

See also

References

External links