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• n  a family name derived from name of your father or a paternal ancestor (especially with an affix (such as -son in English or O'- in Irish) added to the name of your father or a paternal ancestor)

• Director Marco Bellocchio's family name means "beautiful eye" and European cinema buffs are satisfied that it is a highly suitable patronym.

• patronymic

News & Articles

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• Babies named for fathers, not mothers, reflect US cultural ideologies
  From Cal Ripkin, Jr., to Robert Downey, Jr., finding men named after their fathers -- with so-called patronyms -- is easy. But what about matronymns -- names for a mother or grandmother? New research shows that matronymns are rare and that family naming trends follow a regional pattern in the United States: people in states that place higher emphasis on honor are more likely to use patronyms ...
  Nov. 7, 2013 - Science Daily
• Babies named for fathers but not mothers reflect US cultural ideologies
  ( Society for Personality and Social Psychology ) From Cal Ripkin, Jr., to Robert Downey, Jr., finding men named after their fathers -- with so-called patronyms -- is easy. But what about matronymns -- names for a mother or grandmother? New research shows that matronymns are rare and that family naming trends follow a regional pattern in the United States: people in states that place higher ...
  Nov. 7, 2013 - EurekAlert!