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Teknonymy

Practice of referring to parents by the names of their children

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Teknonymy (from Greek: τέκνον, "child" and Greek: ὄνομα, "name")^[1] is the practice of referring to parents by the names of their children.^[2] This practice can be found in many different cultures around the world. The term was coined by anthropologist Edward Burnett Tylor in an 1889 paper.^[3] Such names are called teknonyms, teknonymics, or paedonymics.^[4]

Teknonymy can be found in:

• Various Austronesian peoples:
  • The Cocos MalaysofCocos (Keeling) Islands, where parents are known by the name of their first-born child.^[5] 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^[6]
  • Dayak and related indigenous peoples of Borneo, like the Penan^[7]
  • The Betsileo people of Madagascar, in particular the Zafimaniry subgroup^[8]
  • the language of the Madurese people of Indonesia
  • the Mentawai people of Indonesia^[9]
  • Tao people of Taiwan^[10]
• the Korean language; for example, if a Korean woman has a child named Su-min, she might be called Su-min Eomma (meaning "mother of Su-min")^[3]
• Chinese language 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.^[11] 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 child, but can also be used in some limited scenarios, e.g. the child's teacher calling the child's parents.
• the Arab world; 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^[12]
• the Zuni language
• Swahili, as spoken in Tanzania and Kenya;^[13] 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 in the Horn of Africa
• the Yoruba language of Western Africa; for example, if a woman has a son named Femi, 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 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

See also[edit]

• Michitsuna no Haha
• Korean name
• Patronymy

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• The dictionary definition of teknonym at Wiktionary