My Dad! If we were using patronymic’s,                                                  I think my name would be Joy Emilsdatter! (Don’t quote me on that.)

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Patronymic is the a name showing decendancy by adding a prefix or a suffix. It comes from the fathers name. For example,

Fitz, English (Norman); son of, comes before the name (Fitzgerald),

or Son, Swedish; son of, comes after the name (Swenson),

or Wiecz, wicz, Polish; son of (Karkowicz).

How does this help you do your Family History? It can give you great clues to help in the search for more family names. Knowing that you have ancestors with patronymic naming, also requires that you search more carefully. You will want to use other information to help in your search, for example: Where do they live? Is there a farm close to where they live? What was their occupation? What are their siblings names?

Family Search has great information about searching using patronymic’s. You can read more about it here! 

Happy Family History Friday! Love, Joy