Naming Glossary
Key terms and concepts from Asian naming traditions
Seong
성 (姓)
The family name or surname in Korean naming convention, always placed before the given name and shared by all members of a patrilineal clan.
Ireum
이름
The given name in Korean, typically consisting of two syllables chosen to convey auspicious meaning, moral virtue, or desired qualities for the child.
Dollimja
돌림자 (行列字)
A shared generational character in Korean names, where one syllable of the given name is common among all siblings or cousins of the same generation within a clan.
Xìng
姓 (xìng)
The Chinese surname, placed before the given name, representing family lineage and patrilineal descent.
Míng
名 (míng)
The Chinese given name, chosen with great deliberation to convey aspirations, virtues, or auspicious meanings for the individual.
Generational Name Ranking
排行 (páiháng)
A naming convention where one character in each generation's names is predetermined by a clan poem, indicating generational order within a family.
Compound Surname
复姓 (fùxìng)
A Chinese surname consisting of two characters, such as Sīmǎ (司马) or Ōuyáng (欧阳), often with aristocratic or ethnic origins.
Myōji
名字 (みょうじ)
The Japanese surname or family name, written before the given name in Japanese order. Japan has over 100,000 distinct surnames, one of the highest counts of any nation.
Namae
名前 (なまえ)
The Japanese given name or first name, chosen by parents at birth. It appears after the surname in Japanese naming order and often carries aspirational or poetic meaning.
Họ
Họ
The Vietnamese surname or family name, placed first in the full name order, representing patrilineal lineage and clan identity.
Tên
Tên
The Vietnamese given name, placed last in the full name order, which serves as the primary identifier and carries the family's hopes and aspirations for the child.
Tên đệm
Tên đệm / Tên lót
The Vietnamese middle name, positioned between the surname and given name, which can indicate gender, generational lineage, or add poetic meaning to the full name.
South Indian Patronymic System
தென்னிந்திய பெயர் முறை
A naming convention prevalent in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala where the father's given name serves as the child's surname or initial.
South Indian Initial System
முதலெழுத்து முறை
A naming convention, especially common in Tamil Nadu, where a person's name is preceded by one or more initials representing their father's name, village, or ancestral house.
Forename
Forename
The British term for a person's given name or first name, placed before the surname in English naming convention and recorded on all official documents.
British Surname
Surname
The hereditary family name used in British naming convention, placed after all forenames and inherited patrilineally, though modern law permits various inheritance arrangements.
Middle Name
Middle Name
A name given between the forename and surname in British naming convention, used to honour relatives, carry religious significance, or provide an additional identity option.
Double-Barrelled Surname
Double-Barrelled Surname
A hyphenated surname combining two family names, traditionally used by British aristocratic families to preserve both lineages when a family without male heirs merged with another.
Prénom
prénom
The French given name or first name, literally 'the name before' (the surname), formally recorded in the état civil and historically governed by strict naming laws.
Nom de Famille
nom de famille
The French family name or surname, transmitted hereditarily and recorded in the état civil, placed after all prénoms in the complete legal name.
Prénom Composé
prénom composé
A hyphenated compound given name in French naming tradition, such as Jean-Pierre, Marie-Claire, or Anne-Sophie, treated as a single indivisible prénom in legal contexts.
Nom de Jeune Fille
nom de jeune fille
The French term for a woman's maiden name — her nom de famille at birth — which remains her legal surname throughout her life regardless of marriage under French law.
Ainm Gaeilge
Ainm Gaeilge
An Irish-language given name in its native Gaelic form, often distinct from anglicized equivalents that were imposed during British colonial administration.
Mac Prefix
Mac / Mc
A Gaelic patronymic prefix meaning 'son of', used in Irish and Scottish surnames to indicate descent from a named male ancestor.
O' Prefix
Ó / Ua
An Irish patronymic prefix derived from the Old Irish 'ua' meaning 'grandson' or 'descendant of', now the most common Gaelic surname prefix in Ireland.
Irish Patronymic System
Mac / Nic / Bean
The Irish system of gendered patronymic prefixes: Mac (son of), Nic (daughter of the son of), and Bean Uí/Mhic (wife of a descendant of), encoding gender and descent in the surname.
Irish Name Order
Ord Ainm na Gaeilge
In Irish, the personal name precedes the surname (given name first), matching the English convention but diverging in gendered and grammatical treatment of the surname element.
Mac Prefix (Scottish)
Mac / Mc
The Scottish Gaelic patronymic prefix Mac (son of) forms the basis of hundreds of Scottish clan surnames and serves as one of the most visible markers of Scottish Gaelic heritage.
Scottish Gaelic Name
Ainm Gàidhlig
A Scottish Gaelic personal name in its native form, which often differs substantially from the anglicized or Scots equivalent used in official records and everyday English-language contexts.
Scottish Patronymic Tradition
Sloinneadh
The Scottish Gaelic practice of identifying individuals through patronymic chains (sloinneadh), which preceded and coexisted with the adoption of fixed hereditary surnames from the sixteenth century onward.
Lowland Scottish Surnames
Sloinnidhean nan Galldachd
Surnames of the Scottish Lowlands, formed principally from occupational, locational, and descriptive origins under the influence of Scots, Norman-French, and Old English naming traditions from the twelfth century onward.
Norwegian Patronymic System
Patronym / -sen og -datter
The traditional Norwegian naming system where children took a surname formed from the father's first name plus the suffix -sen (son) or -datter (daughter). Norway officially transitioned to fixed hereditary surnames in 1923.
Norwegian Farm Name
Gårdsnavn
A distinctly Norwegian naming tradition in which individuals used the name of the farm (gård) where they lived as their surname. As people moved between farms, their surnames could change accordingly.
Norwegian Middle Name
Mellomnavn
A mellomnavn is a legally recognised middle name in Norway that occupies a special position between the given name and surname. Unlike a simple additional given name, it often functions as a family heritage marker.
Norwegian Personal Name Structure
Norsk personnavn
Norwegian personal naming follows a three-part structure: one or more given names (fornavn), an optional middle name (mellomnavn), and a hereditary surname (etternavn). This structure is regulated by the 2003 Name Act.
Swedish Patronymic System
Patronymikon / -sson och -dotter
The traditional Swedish patronymic naming system gave children a surname formed from the father's given name plus the suffix -sson (son) or -dotter (daughter). This system was the dominant mode of hereditary identification in Sweden until the 19th century.
Swedish Soldier Name
Soldatnamn
Soldatnamn (soldier names) were unique surnames assigned to Swedish military conscripts from the 17th century onward, allowing the army to distinguish soldiers who shared common patronymic surnames. These names are now among the most distinctive Swedish surnames.
Swedish Nature-Based Surname
Naturnamn / Naturinspirerat efternamn
Nature-based Swedish surnames (naturnamn) are compound surnames formed from elements drawn from the natural landscape — such as -berg (mountain), -ström (stream), -lund (grove), and -dal (valley) — and are among the most characteristic features of Swedish surname culture.
Swedish Byname
Tillnamn / Binnamn
A tillnamn (byname or additional name) is a descriptive, occupational, or locational name added to a person's given name to distinguish individuals who share the same given name within a community. Tillnamn were precursors to fixed surnames in Swedish naming history.
Swedish Double First Name
Dubbelt förnamn / Sammansatt förnamn
The Swedish tradition of double first names involves giving a child two given names hyphenated or written together as a single compound name, such as Anna-Karin, Lars-Erik, or Karl-Johan, creating a fused identity name treated as a unit.
Patronymikon
Patronymikon
The Danish patronymic naming system, historically forming surnames by appending the suffix -sen (son) or -datter (daughter) to the father's given name, producing names like Jensen, Nielsen, and Hansen.
Mellemnavn
mellemnavn
The Danish middle name (mellemnavn), a legally recognised additional name placed between the given name and the surname, which may function as a secondary given name or carry family or patronymic heritage.
Danish Patronymic Law of 1828
Anordning af 1828
The Danish royal ordinance of 1828 that mandated the adoption of fixed hereditary surnames, ending the centuries-old patronymic system where surnames changed with each generation.
Tilnavn
tilnavn
A Danish byname or descriptive nickname (tilnavn) historically given to distinguish individuals who shared the same given name, referring to a physical characteristic, place of origin, occupation, or personal trait.
Sukunimi
sukunimi
The Finnish hereditary family name or surname (sukunimi), typically derived from nature, geography, occupation, or phonetically adapted from Swedish-language family names, which became mandatory for all Finnish citizens in the late 19th century.
Etunimi
etunimi
The Finnish given name or first name (etunimi), placed before the surname in Finnish naming order, with Finnish law permitting up to four given names per person.
Patronyymi
patronyymi
The Finnish patronymic naming system, historically forming a child's surname from the father's given name by appending -poika (son) or -tytär (daughter), a practice that predated the adoption of fixed hereditary surnames.
Matronyymi
matronyymi
The Finnish matronymic naming practice, in which a child's surname or byname is derived from the mother's given name rather than the father's, a rarer but historically documented alternative to the predominant patronymic system.
Lisänimi
lisänimi
A Finnish additional byname or descriptive nickname (lisänimi) historically used to distinguish individuals sharing the same given name within a community, often referring to a physical feature, place of origin, occupation, or personal quality.