Byname or patronymic names for daughters?

Question

Bynames in various texts and genealogies include the suffix -ing to indicate the son of. Example would be Cynric son of Cerdic written as Cynric Cerdicing.

Was there a similar practice for daughter's "bynames?"

George Walkden · Answer

For Old English, there's no evidence that there was a suffix for daughters corresponding to -ing. At least I'm not aware of one, and there's no mention in Okasha's 2011 book on women's names in Old English, or in Colman's 2014 book on the grammar of names in Anglo-Saxon England.

Colman actually suggests (2014: 140–141) that even -ing was no longer used as a patronymic during the late Old English period, though it started out that way.

Colman actually suggests (2014: 140–141) that even -ing was no longer used as a patronymic during the late Old English period, though it started out that way.

Byname or patronymic names for daughters?

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