Patronym

A patronym is a name given to a person based upon the family name of his or her father. This system is still in place in Iceland, where for example the first name (or given name) of Björk Guðmundsdóttir's father was Guðmundur. Therefore, she is Guðmund's daughter, hence the name. Likewise, any sons he might have had would be given Guðmundsson as a family name. Other norwegian cultures formerly practiced this, but have since gone to the more Judeo-Christian style of passing the father's last name to the children (and wife) as their own.