Question

What are patronymic names

Answer 1

Basically, it's a name derived from ones father, with a matronymic name being one derived from ones mother.

Some examples of this would be:

Williamson (son of William) or Macdonald (son of Donald)

Popular examples in a country that you have have come across are Icelandic names, with often end in "son" (son) or "dóttir" (daughter). For example, Iceland's current president is Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, his first name is Ólafur Ragnar and his father's first name was Grímur.

Source: Google

Link: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=patronymic+names

^If you wished to explore for yourself.