XPost: rec.arts.sf.written, rec.arts.books   
   From: b.scott@csuohio.edu   
      
   On 27 Aug 2013 18:58:31 GMT, "John F. Eldredge"   
    wrote in   
    in   
   rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.movies,rec.arts.books:   
      
   [...]   
      
   > A slightly different issue, but one that confuses   
   > record-keeping systems in our culture, is that some other   
   > cultures use only one name (and some individuals within   
   > our own culture, particularly some celebrities, use only   
   > a single name as their legal identity), and some   
   > cultures, such as in Iceland, don't have a continuous   
   > family name from one generation to the next.   
      
   While patronymics are the norm, about 7% of Icelanders bear   
   inherited family names.   
      
   > My understanding is that Iceland uses patronymics for men   
   > and matronymics for women, so that I, for example, would   
   > be called John Jameson, because my father's first name   
   > was James.   
      
   No, patronymics are usual for both men and women.  E.g., the   
   former Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir is the daughter   
   of a man named Sigurður, and the singer Björk is Björk   
   Guðmundsdóttir, meaning that her father’s name is Guðmundur.   
   A rather small number of Icelanders of both sexes do bear   
   metronymics; a male example is Heiðar Helguson (son of   
   Helga), a former professional football (soccer) player.  A   
   metronymic is typically chosen when the person or the   
   person’s mother wishes to sever ties with the father.  A few   
   people actually have both.   
      
   Brian   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)