Our beloved prophet (saw) was Mohammed ibn Abdullah, meaning, ‘Mohammed, the son of Abdullah.’
That is, part of his name showed who his father was, and thus was a means of showing his lineage. The importance of showing lineage may be acute in the case of royalty or chieftains.
Patronymics is a system that uses the given name of one’s father, grandfather, or an ancestor as part of a person’s name.
Patronymics are common in Islamic names, and in other societies nowadays, although they have been largely replaced by patronymic surnames (that is, surnames that do not change, but originate in an early ancestor) in many societies.
Convincing evidence
The Prophet’s father’s name, Abdullah, is convincing evidence that Allah is the name of God, and was not revealed or invented at the time of the advent of Islam.
Mohammed’s father was named Abdullah (‘Servant of God”) before Mohammed was born, and thus before he became a Prophet, before the Holy Quran was revealed.
Less common are matronymics, the use of the name of a mother or earlier female ancestor.
Jesus Christ
Curiously, however, while patronymics are common in Middle Eastern societies, Prophet Jesus (Isa, as) is referred in several places in the Quran as ‘Jesus the son of Mary” (Isa ibn Mariam). This is because both Muslims and Christians believe that His was a ‘Virgin Birth,’ that is, he had a human mother but no human father.
Patronymics is still in use in many societies, including Muslim.
Most take the form of given name, (ibn, sometimes changed to bin), father’s name; for example, Malaysian Prime Minister is Najib Razak (Najib the son of Abdul Razak).
Extended Names
However, this may be extended to include earlier ancestors (grandfather, great grandfather, and so on). For instance, the full name of the 14th century historian known as Ibn Khaldun is Abd Ar Rahman ibn Mohammed ibn Mohammed ibn Mohammed ibn Al Hasan ibn Mohammed ibn Jabir ibn Mohammed ibn Ibrahim ibn Abd Ar Rahman ibn Khaldun.
Common Examples
Here are some examples of patronymics, sometimes in conjunction with surnames:
Abel Janszoon Tasman (17th century Dutch explorer of New Zealand, Australia, and the Pacific) is ‘Abel the son of Jan Tasman.’
Lev (Leo) Nikolayevhich Tolstoy (19th century Russian novelist) is ‘Lev, the son of Nikolai Tolstoy.’
Peder Claussøn Friis (16th century Norwegian historian) is ‘Peder (Peter), the son of Nicolas Friis’ (Claus in Claussøn being short for Nicolas).
Thomas Hansen Kingo, (17th century Danish Bishop, Poet and Hymn-Writer) is ‘Thomas the son of Hans Kingo.’
Over time, patronymics has given way to surnames. However, it may not be obvious to readers that many English surnames have patronymic origin. Following are examples.
Davidson, Edmundson, Jackson, Richardson, Thomson, Williamson (‘the son of or having as an ancestor David, Edmund, Jack, Richard, Thomas, William’). These may be abbreviated (Williamson becomes Wilson).
Andrews, Edwards, Peters, Willis (‘the son of or having as an ancestor Andrew, Edward, Peter, William’). The s here was originally a possessive genitive (Andrew’s).
Fitzherbert, Fitzgerald, Fitzjohn, Fitzwilliam (‘the son of or having as an ancestor Herbert, Gerald, John, William’). Fitz is related to the French fils ‘son.’
MacAdam, MacAlister, MacArthur, MacCallum, MacDonald, MacDougall (‘the son of or having as an ancestor Adam, Alistair, Arthur, Calum, Donald, Dougal’). Mac is of Gaelic origin, and may be spelt Mc, often with a raised c (McDonald).
O’Brien, O’Donnell, O’Neill, O’Reilly (‘the son of or having as an ancestor Brien, Donall, Neill, Reilly’). This prefix is of Irish origin. Common surnames in other languages also have patronymic origins.
In Spanish, Hernandez, Lopez and Perez mean ‘the son of or having as an ancestor Hernan, Lope, Pedro.’
Portuguese Alvares, Gonçalves and Soares mean ‘the son of or having as an ancestor Alvaroa, Gonçalo, Soeiro.’
Greek Alexandrou is ‘son of Alexander.’ Similarly, Iasonidis is ‘son of Jason.’
Turkish Koseoglu is ‘son of Kose.’
Source: Rocket Science, Monthly Newsletter of Mt Albert Islamic Centre, Auckland
