Teknonymy Explained

Teknonymy (from Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: τέκνον, "child" and Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ὄνομα|label=none, "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 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 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")
• 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

• Michitsuna no Haha
• Korean name
• Patronymy

Notes and References

1. Book: Reflections on Japanese Language and Culture . Institute of Cultural and Linguistic Studies, Keio University . Studies in the humanities and social relations . v. 15 . 1987 . 16 June 2019 . 65 . On the Notion of Teknonymy In the field of anthropology, the custom of calling the parent after the child is known as teknonymy, a term coined from the Greek word teknon "child" and the anglicized form of onoma as onymy "name"..
2. Parsons . Elsie Clews . 1914 . Teknonymy . American Journal of Sociology . 19 . 5 . 649–650 . 0002-9602.
3. Teknonymy and Geononymy in Korean Kinship Terminology . Kwang-Kyu . Lee . Youngsook . Kim Harvey . Ethnology . 12 . 1 . 1973 . 31–46 . 10.2307/3773095 . 3773095.
4. Oxford English Dictionary (2005), "paedonymic, n."
5. Monika . Winarnita . Nicholas . Herriman . Marriage Migration to the Malay Muslim community of Home Island (Cocos Keeling Islands) . Indonesia and the Malay World . 40 . 118 . 372–387 . 2012 . 10.1080/13639811.2012.709020. 162569220 .
6. Teknonymy in Bali: Parenthood, Age-Grading and Genealogical Amnesia . Hildred . Geertz . Clifford . Geertz . Clifford Geertz . The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland . 94 . 2 . 1964 . 94–108 . 10.2307/2844376 . 2844376.
7. The System of Teknonyms and Death-Names of the Penan . Rodney . Needham . Southwestern Journal of Anthropology . 10 . 4 . 1954 . 416–431 . 10.1086/soutjanth.10.4.3628836 . 3628836. 147119191 .
8. Book: Bloch, Maurice . 2006 . http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/8761/ . Teknonymy and the evocation of the 'social' among the Zafimaniry of Madagascar . vom Bruck . Gabriele . Bodenhorn . Barbara . An Anthropology of Names and Naming . Cambridge University Press . 97–114 . 978-0-521-84863-3.
9. Book: Hammons . Christian . Sakaliou: Reciprocity, mimesis, and the cultural economy of tradition in Siberut, Mentawai Islands, Indonesia . 2010 . University of Southern California .
10. Book: Kao, Hsin-chieh . Labour, life, and language: Personhood and relations among the Yami of Lanyu . 2012 . University of St. Andrews, Department of Social Anthropology . Doctoral dissertation . 56. 10023/3206 .
11. Web site: Gao . Yingpei . 相声·钓鱼 . YouTube . Tianjin TV Station . 24 February 2022.
12. Making Kin out of Others in Amazonia . Aparecida . Vilaça . The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute . 8 . 2 . 2002 . 347–365 . 3134479 . 10.1111/1467-9655.00007.
13. Book: Russell, Joan . Complete Swahili, Teach Yourself . 2012 . Hachette. 9781444173437 .