Matriname
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The term "matriname" was introduced by Prof. Bryan Sykes in his book The Seven Daughters of Eve, stating that "We would then all have three names: a first name, a surname and a new one, a matriname perhaps."[1][b]
The mitochondrial DNA (
Single surname
The usual lack of matrinames to pass on in patrilineal cultures makes traditional genealogy more difficult in the maternal line than in the paternal line.[1] After all, father-line surnames originated partly to identify individuals clearly and were adopted partly for administrative reasons,[c] and these patrinames help in searching for facts and documentation from centuries ago. Patrinames are stable identity-surnames, surnames which identify an individual, whether now or in the past or future; matrinames similarly are identity-surnames for women.
In the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (
Sykes argues choosing a "family name", or surname, should mean combining a matriname with a patriname, to avoid discriminating against either women or men.
Some cultures have no
Note that one's resulting birth surname is one's legal surname, unless one changes the latter.
In several purely patrilineal cultures, including most of Europe, women traditionally change to their husband's patriname at marriage: see
Double surname
Some cultures use both paternal and maternal surname, such as Spanish naming customs, Portuguese names, and the naming customs of Hispanic America. The patrilineal surname—patriname—taken from the mother in these patrilineal cultures does not qualify as a matriname. Instead, this Hispanic practice uses the maternal patriname.
Double surnames were discussed in The Seven Daughters of Eve.[1] Double surnames were also used by one English family, along with the matriname "Phythian".[3] In this case the mother has the birth double surname "Phythian-Adams", and the father has birth double surname "??-Monkhouse". They both choose to retain their birth double surnames unchanged throughout their lives. They agree to denominate all of their daughters and sons with the birth double surname "Phythian-Monkhouse": The mother passes on her matriname (and
(Note that most societies give all children of a family the same surname, as in this example.) Each person has only one identity-surname, which in this example is either "Phythian" or "Monkhouse". The identity-surname of each is stable throughout life and always half of whatever double surname(s) he or she assumes throughout life, including at birth and marriage(s).The parents in this example share this one family name, "Phythian-Monkhouse".[4]
One's own identity-surname (here, the matriname "Phythian" or the patriname "Monkhouse") are always available as one's own usage name, such as in one's profession/vocation.
In summary, gender-symmetric single surnames are simpler and briefer, but if used alone, give different surnames for members of the different genders in a nuclear family. In the double system, all of the children in a nuclear family have the same double surname. Also, the system generally records on all legal documents the matriname and patriname, with both identity-surnames later aiding each gender in genealogy and other searches of historical records.[1][3]
See also
- Double surname
- Extinction of surnames
- Family name
- Gender equality
- List of matrilineal or matrilocal societies
- List of people who adopted matrilineal surnames
- Lucy Stone League, on the topic of identity-surnames
- Maiden and married names
- Matrilineality
- Patrilineality
- Patronymic surname
- Women's rights
Notes
- ^ The word "matriname" was used in scientific literature (referring to "maternal surnames", actually) for many years before Professor Sykes' 2001 book.
- mtDNA, the main topic of his book.
- ^ For a more complete historical background, see Surname § History, especially its first sub-section, Modern Era..
References
- ^ mtDNA, the main topic of his book.
- ^ a b UN Convention, 1979. "Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Wome", or CEDAW. Archived at WebCite [1] on 1 Apr 2011.
- ^ a b c Sarah Louisa Phythian-Adams, 20 Aug. 2008. "In the Name of... Archived 2010-11-04 at the Wayback Machine", an TheFWord.org featured article by the author. (To find the family tree etc. of this pioneering matriname double-surname case, search the article for the word "proposal".) Archived at WebCite [2] on 1 Apr 2011.
- ISBN 0-914142-02-X; pp. 334–37 on actual invented surnames and pp. 84–88 on double surnames.
External links
- Lucy Stone League official website at the Wayback Machine (archived June 2, 2013) (on the topic of identity-surnames)