Matronymic

//ˌmætɹəˈnɪmɪk// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A surname or byname acquired from the given name of one's mother.
  2. 2
    a name derived from the name of your mother or a maternal ancestor wordnet
  3. 3
    By extension, a surname or byname acquired from the given name from a female ancestor.
Adjective
  1. 1
    Of, relating to, or derived from the given name of one's mother. not-comparable

    "In many countries, matronymic surnames can be adopted after the death of the father, although the process is very formal and lengthy."

  2. 2
    By extension; of, relating to, or derived from the given name of a female ancestor. not-comparable

Synonyms

All synonyms
metronymicavonymiccognomenmatronymmatronymmetronym

Example

More examples

"In many countries, matronymic surnames can be adopted after the death of the father, although the process is very formal and lengthy."

Etymology

From Latin māter (“mother”) + -onym + -ic.

Related phrases

family namefirst namegiven name

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.