Many migrants and tourists to New Zealand complain about delays at Immigration because the computer system cannot handle their names. This often happens with Muslim names, but also with people from other religions, cultures or nationalities.

The system seems to be set up only to accept names that consist of a given name (or first, or Christian name), eg John, followed by a surname (or family name), eg Smith, perhaps with one or more middle names in between. This works for people like John Smith but there are probably a similar number of people globally for whom it does not work.

A male Muslim convert was marrying a female born Muslim. His brother asked him, “Remind me: what is her Christian name and her surname?” The accurate answer was that she did not have a Christian name or a surname.

Single name

Stuff reports that there are 904 people in New Zealand with only one name, that is a given name but no surname. Of these, 32 are Māori, this having been the Māori custom before Christian and colonial influence. The majority, however, are from India, where surnames may be dropped in order to avoid revealing your caste.

The use of a single name (a mononym) dates back millennia. Characters in the Quran and Bible often have only one name: Adam, Eve, Moses, Abraham. So do ancient Greeks: Homer, Plato, Socrates, Aristotle.

The practice continues to modern times: Emperor Naruhito of Japan, former presidents Sukarno and Suharto of Indonesia. It is still common in Bhutan, Afghanistan, Indonesia (Java especially), Myanmar, Mongolia, Tibet and South India.

Until recently, travellers to the UAE had to have passports showing first and last names. Those with only one name were denied entry. That ruling has now been lifted, and passengers with only one name can enter the UAE provided their father’s name or a family name is included on the second page of their passports.

Patronymics in Islam

Another departure from the given name + surname template is for the last part not to represent a family name, but rather the person’s father’s name.

For example, the final prophet of Islam’s name was Muhammad ibn Abdullah, literally Muhammad, 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 practice continues to the present day. For example, the prime minister of Malaysia is known as Anwar Ibrahim. In fact, his full name is Anwar bin Ibrahim, that is, “Anwar, the son of Ibrahim”. Similarly, his father’s full name was Ibrahim bin Abdul Rahman. It would be inappropriate to call the prime minister “Mr Ibrahim” as that was his father’s name, not his.

The use of a father’s name as part of the child’s is called a patronymic. The Arabic form is ibn (son of, sometimes changed to bin) or bint (daughter of, sometimes changed to binti/binte). These may be anglicised, especially in Indian names, to S/O and D/O.

The practice may be extended to include earlier ancestors (grandfather, great grandfather, etc), showing the importance of lineage. For instance, the full name of the 14th century historian known as Ibn Khaldun is Abd ar-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn Jabir ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Khaldun.

In European languages

Patronymics are not limited to Arabic but are also found in European languages, sometimes in conjunction with surnames:

• Abel Janszoon Tasman, the 17th century Dutch explorer, is “Abel, the son of Jan Tasman”

• Lev (Leo) Nikolayevhich Tolstoy, the 19th century Russian novelist, is “Lev, the son of Nikolai Tolstoy”

• Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy is the president of Ukraine; his father is Oleksandr Zelenskyy

• Peder Claussøn Friis, a 16th century Norwegian historian, is “Peder, the son of Nicolas Friis” (Claus in Claussøn being short for Nicolas)

• Thomas Hansen Kingo, a 17th century Danish bishop, poet and hymn-writer, is “Thomas, the son of Hans Kingo”

• Icelandic traditionally has no surnames. The prime minister is Katrín Jakobsdóttir (“Katrin, the daughter of Jakob”) and she is married to Gunnar Sigvaldason (“Gunnar, the son of Sigvald”).

Over time, patronymics have often given way to surnames. However, it may not be obvious that many English surnames have patronymic origins:

• Davidson, Edmundson, Jackson, Richardson, Thomson, Williamson etc (the son of – or having as an ancestor – David, Edmund, Jack, Richard, Thomas, William); these may be abbreviated, eg Williamson becomes Wilson

• Andrews, Edwards, Peters, Willis etc (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 etc (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, MacDougal etc (the son of – or having as an ancestor – Adam, Alistair, Arthur, Callum, Donald, Dougal); Mac is of Gaelic origin and may be spelt Mc, often with a raised c (M^cDonald)

• O’Brien, O’Donnell, O’Neill, O’Reilly etc (the son of – or having as an ancestor – Brien, Donall, Neill, Reilly); this prefix is of Irish origin and the O’ is the same as the English “of”.

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 “the son of Alexander”; similarly, Iasonidis is “the son of Jason”

• Turkish Koseoglu is “the son of Kose”.

Implications of patronymics

There are two main implications of the use of patronymics.

Firstly, and most importantly, they show who the father of the child is, and thus whose responsibility the care of the child is. Say Ali ibn Abdul Rahim and his sister Zainab binti Abdul Rahim are both the children of Abdul Rahim. It is thus Abdul Rahim’s paternal responsibility to make sure that their food, health, clothing, housing, education etc are all taken care of.

This is not to say, of course, that their mother has no part in their upbringing; however, it is their father who bears the moral and financial responsibility. In short, being a child’s father carries various obligations that must be taken seriously and fulfilled. This accountability is encapsulated in the patronymic.

Patronymics also express the importance of marriage in Islam. Thus, children are the product of a responsible, loving and Islamically sanctioned marriage, that is, the union of a husband and wife by a marriage ceremony (nikkah) conducted by a Muslim marriage celebrant (qadi).

It is clear who the mother of a child is, because she has been obviously pregnant for nine months.

In Islam, the father is clearly identified by (i) an Islamic marriage, and (ii) a patronymic, where used. Illegitimate children (that is, where the biological parents are not married) run counter to this.

In the Middle East in medieval times, illegitimate children would be given the name “ibn Abihi” (“son of his father”). Ziyad ibn Abihi, a contemporary of Prophet Muhammad, is an example of this. He was adopted by Abu Sufian, a tribal leader, and took the name Ziyad ibn Abu Sufian, although it has been pointed out that this use of ibn is against Islamic law (shariah), because Abu Sufian was not his father.

Secondly, patronymics avoid the “chip off the old block” syndrome. This idiom means that a son (the chip) resembles the father (the block) in looks, characteristics and behaviour. Some people give their sons their own name, presumably in the hope that they will grow up to be just like their father. It is little more than self-aggrandisement, the practice of trying to exaggerate one's own importance, power or reputation.

In Islam, this would sound strange as it would result in names such as Ali ibn Ali, Yahya ibn Yahya.

One exception is Muhammad ibn Muhammad, which is not uncommon (see, for instance the full name of Ibn Khaldun, above). Naming a child Muhammad emphasises the importance of Prophet Muhammad to Muslims, and the great reverence in which he is held. This is also the reason why Muhammad, including all its spelling variants, is the commonest given name in the world.

In some circles, especially in America, this can take the form of giving your son the same names as yourself, but with “II” afterwards (ie “the second”, the father being the first). Senior and Junior do much the same job.

For instance, in the Rockefeller family of industrial, political and banking fame, William Avery Rockefeller Jr (1841– 1922) was the son of William Avery Rockefeller Sr (1810– 1906).

Another example is the American golfer Davis Love III, who is the son of Davis Love Jr, himself the son of Davis Love Sr. Davis Love III’s son, also a golfer, is Davis Love IV.

How far can you take this? George Foreman, the retired boxer, has 12 children: seven daughters, and five sons named George Jr, George III, George IV, George V and George VI.

Two-word names

Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said, “The most beloved of your names to Allah are ‘Abd Allah and ‘Abd al-Rahman.” Abd is Arabic for “servant”, so these names mean “servant of God” and “servant of the Merciful one, ie God”.

Such names can be spelt in English as two words (Abdul Rahman) or as one (Abdulrahman). Abd Allah is very often spelt as one word: Abdullah. This may seem a trivial difference. However, it leads to problems with computer systems that want only one last name.

Sikhs

The last part of Sikh names is usually Singh (lion) for a man, and Kaur (princess) for a woman. However, Sikhs consider this a title as much as a surname. Its origin is again in the rejection of the Indian caste system, which could be deduced from a surname.

The fact that Sikhs have the same name – Singh – led Canada to tell Sikh immigration applicants to change their name. There was a backlash from Sikhs who complained that they were being told to change the name they were born with. Ten years later, in 2007, the Canadian government reversed the decision.

Conclusion

So, what’s in a name? For millions of people around the world, it is not a Christian name (or first name or forename) and surname.

Patronymics are not uncommon in societies, although they have often been replaced by surnames.

They are still common in Muslim societies, and emphasise the importance of marriage and legitimate children in Islam, and the responsibilities of the father towards his children.

Prophet Muhammad said, “You will be called on the Day of Judgment by your names and the names of your fathers; so let your names be good.”

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