Teknonymy

Teknonymy (from Ancient Greek: τέκνον 'child' and 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]

Examples

Teknonymy can be found in:

• Various Austronesian peoples:
  • The Cocos Malays of Cocos (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 as Mak Sheila ('Sheila's mother').
  • Toba Batak people of Indonesia.^[6] The case is very similar to the Cocos Malays.
  • Balinese people of Indonesia.^[7]
  • Dayak and related indigenous peoples of Borneo, like the Penan^[8]
  • Betsileo people of Madagascar, in particular the Zafimaniry subgroup^[9]
  • language of the Madurese people of Indonesia
  • Mentawai people of Indonesia^[10]
  • Tao people of Taiwan^[11]
• 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]
• the Chinese language has a 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 mother 他妈/孩儿他妈/二儿他妈, meaning 'his mom'/'child's mom'/'Er'er's mom', respectively.^[12] Similar applies to the boy's mother calling her husband (i.e., the boy's father) by changing 妈 ('mom') to 爸/爹 ('dad'). This usage occurs mostly between parents, but can also be found in other limited scenarios, e.g. a teacher calling a child's parents.
• Bangladeshi people
• the Arabic-speaking 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.
• areas of Amazonia^[13]
• the Zuni language, indigenous to New Mexico
• various African peoples, particularly in West Africa
  • 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.
  • the Yoruba language of West Africa; for example, if a woman has a son named Femi, she will now be known as iya Femi (meaning 'mother of Femi') and her husband baba Femi (meaning 'father of Femi').
  • the Hausa language of West 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.
  • Swahili, as spoken in Tanzania and Kenya;^[14] 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, among Habesha people in the Horn of Africa

See also

• Michitsuna no Haha
• Korean name
• Patronymy
• "Stacy's Mom"