Hungary Naming Customs

Naming Customs
In Hungarian, the surname (or a family name) is used first, followed by the given name. For example:

Hungarians also celebrate name days (each day in the calendar has one or more designated names.)
 * there is usually just one given name
 * surnames are generally a single names
 * patronymics were usually not used as fixed surnames
 * his rule is also followed in Hungarian parish registers

Surnames were usually derived from common sources such as trades, qualities, ethnic origins, place names etc.:

Titles of nobility are put before the surnames:

Bynames
Hungarians use a "byname" to help identify people with the same given names. The byname might be created from the fathers given name (as a patronymic name.) Other bynames might be created from an occupation or even a physical description. The byname might be used within the village or town, but were not fixed surnames. Further, a person might be known by one byname in a town, and be called by a different byname when traveling (referring to where they are from.) Bynames were not hereditary.

The first major class of bynames were patronymics that were created using the father's given name. It might be created by adding -fi to a father's meaning "his son" but may appear in records as -fi, -fia, -fy, or fÿ. For example:
 * Fodor Jákobfi (Theodore, son of Jacob)
 * Domokos Bertoldfia (Domokos, son of Bertold)
 * Miklós Oszkárfy (Nicholas, son of Oscar)
 * Simon Vilmosfÿ (Simon, son of Vilmos)

Married Women
Names of Hungarian married women take on special forms. Traditionally, the ending -né is added to her husbands given name and indicates that she is married, or Mrs. For example:
 * Nagy, Jánosné means Mrs. John Nagy


 * Kovács Jánosné means Mrs. John Smith


 * Klausenberger Ignáczné Bival Rosália means that Rosália    Bival married a man named Ignácz Klausenberger