SENA, Appendix B, Types of Bynames
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Appendix B: Types of Bynames http:heraldry.sca.org/sena.html#AppendixB A byname is a name phrase added to a given name to specify which William// or //Mary// you're discussing. Bynames fall into several categories, discussed below. For a list of the types of bynames are available in various languages, see Appendix A. #AppendixBAA. Bynames of relationship: A byname of relationship describes an individual as someone's child or describes some other important relationship. Patronymic names are found widely; other types of bynames of relationship are far more limited in their use. 1. Patronymic bynames describe someone as their father's son or daughter; they are the most common and broadly found type of byname of relationship. Examples include the English Johnson//, //Williams// and //Robert//, the Spanish //Perez//, the Gaelic //mac Néill// and //inghean Domhnaill//, the Scots //Makdowall//, the Arabic //ibn Sulaymān//, the German //Hainrich//, the Italian //di Antonio// and the Old Norse //Bjarnarson. 2. Historical ancestor bynames describe someone as the descendent of their grandfather or earlier ancestors: the Gaelic Ó Ruairc//, //inghean Uí Bhriain//, and the Arabic //al-Ḥasanī// 'descendant of //Ḥasan.' Others do the same thing by listing multiple generations: the Gaelic mac// //Conchobair mhic Fhearchair//, the Welsh //ap Ris ap Madoc//, and the Norse //Ketils son Gríms sonar. 3. Matronymic bynames describe someone as their mother's son or daughter; these are far less common than patronymic bynames. In England they are relatively common, while in Arabic and German, they are quite rare. In other languages, they do not happen at all. Examples include: the English Maddison// 'Maud's son', //filia Agnetis// 'daughter of Agnes' and //Rosedoghter//; the Arabic //Ibn Fatimah// and //Ibn al-Labanah// 'daughter of the milkmaid'; the German //Katerinen son//; and the Italian //di Maddalena. 4. Other bynames of relationship are found only in very limited times and places. They include the following: >> a. Marital bynames describe a woman as her husband's wife. In most cultures in period, women did not change their bynames upon marriage (especially bynames of relationship: your father doesn't change when you get married). >> Examples include the Old Norse Végauts kona//, the English //Jackewyf// and //Hobsonwyf//, and the Gaelic //bean Cormaic//. Sometimes marital bynames are identical in form to patronymics like the Italian //di Giovanni// or German //Dieterlins. >> b. Kunyas are Arabic bynames that describes someone as the parent of a child, most frequently their eldest son. Examples include Umm Badr//, //Abū al-Jafnā// 'father of the curly haired girl', and //Abū 'l-Barakāt// 'father of blessings'//. >> c. Other bynames of relationship: Occasionally, someone will be described in terms of another relationship. Examples include: English Parsonbrother//, //Robertstepson//, //Parsoncosyn//, and //Vikersister//. A few Arabic examples have very complex descriptions like //Ibn ukht Ibn Abi ‘Uqba 'son of the sister of the man who was the son of the father of ‘Uqba.' >> d. Work relationships describe someone as someone's current or former servant. Examples include the English Mathewservant//, //Websterman//, //Gibmayden// and //Prestewoman// as well as the Arabic //mawlā Faraj 'freedman of Faraj'. #AppendixBBB. Locative Bynames: A locative byname describes an individual in terms of a place where they were born, they have lived, or are otherwise associated with. We categorize these in two ways: in terms of the structure, which can either be a phrase such as of London// or an adjective like //Londoner//, and in terms of whether the locative element is a specific named place like //London// or a generic toponym like //Mill// or //Meadow. Some languages use all of these, while others use only some of these patterns. > 1. Locative Bynames from Specific Toponyms: Locative bynames are most frequently formed from the name of a town or city. Locative bynames generally use a single word, though in English there are some examples of compound (two word) placenames used in locative bynames. > Most frequently these use a prepositional phrase, like de Paris//, //von Massenbach//, or //da Bologna//. Sometimes the preposition is dropped, and simply an unmodified placename is used as a byname, like //York//, //Langenberg//, or //Villanova. > 2. Locative Bynames from Generic Topographical Features: Locative bynames are also formed from generic descriptions such as Broke// 'brook', //Vega 'meadow', or Bois 'wood'. > Most of these bynames are created as a prepositional phrase like atte Broke//, //de la Vega//, or //du Bois//. Sometimes the preposition is dropped and an unmodified toponymic is used, like //Castle//, //Molin// and //Serra. > 3. Adjectival Bynames of Location: Some bynames describe someone as being associated with a place as an adjective, like l'Alemant// 'the German,' //Cornyshe//, //Aragones//, or //al-Ishbilī 'the guy from Sevilla.' > Some languages only use this type of locative byname (rather than types 1 & 2 above), like Arabic and Russian. In Russian, a variety of forms are used to indicate locations, such as Novgorodets//, //Novgorodtsev//, and //Novgorodski, all meaning 'from Novgorod.' > 4. Inn-sign Names: Some languages – English, French, and German – include bynames that identify people as living near a sign of the sort used for taverns as well as houses of various sorts. Examples include English atte Rose//, German //zum Grifen//, and French //aux Deux Espees// or //du Cat Rouge. #AppendixBCC. Occupational Bynames: An occupational byname describes an individual in terms of an occupation, generally one that they hold, but sometimes one that a parent or other relative holds. They are common in some languages. Other languages, like Gaelic, Spanish, and Russian, use only a few specific occupational bynames. Most are literal occupational terms, like the English Draper// or //Dyer//, French //Boulengier//, German //Bauer//, or Spanish //Guerrero//. Other occupational bynames take the names of the items that people make, sell, or work with; this are called metonymic bynames. Examples include the English //Coffyn// or the Italian //Sardello 'sardine.' #AppendixBDD. Descriptive Bynames: A descriptive byname describes an individual in terms of their mental or physical characteristics. The names are literal in nature and the sorts of descriptions another person would immediately recognize. Therefore, the suitability of a constructed byname of this sort must be shown with attested bynames that are similar in content and level of abstraction. Examples include the Old Norse gullskeggr// 'gold-beard' and the English //le Proude 'the proud'. One unusual (and less literal) type of descriptive byname found in English is the "phrase name," which gives a typical phrase the owner uses as a byname, such as Fallinthewell. #AppendixBEE. Cognomento// or //alias// Bynames: Especially in earlier European names, a byname is another given name by which a person is known. They are generally, but not always marked by a phrase like //alias//, //dictus//, or //cognomento. Both the suitability of the phrase and the name that follows it must be demonstrated for a particular language and culture. #AppendixBFF. Inherited Family Names: In many languages and cultures, literal bynames of the sort described in A through E above gave way to inherited surnames over time (though in most cultures, some literal bynames continued until after 1600). Some cultures will never adopt inherited family names.