Kinds of surname

Patronymic

Also written or known as Patronymic surname

A surname formed from a father's personal name, such as Johnson or Williams.

Patronymics are one of the four main kinds of surname. In English they usually add -son or -s (Robinson, Roberts); in Gaelic the prefix Mac; in Welsh ap or ab; and in Norman French Fitz. Some come from a grandfather or a more distant ancestor.