Teknonymy (from Greek: τέκνον, "child" and ὄνομα, "name"), more often known as a paedonymic, is the practice of referring to parents by the names of their children. This practice can be found in many different cultures around the world. The term was coined by anthropologist Edward Burnett Tylor in an 1889 paper.
Teknonymy can be found in:
Various Austronesian peoples:
The Cocos Malays of Cocos (Keeling) Islands, where parents are known by the name of their first-born child. For instance, a man named Hashim and his wife, Anisa, have a daughter named Sheila. Hashim is now known as "Pak Sheila" (literally, "Sheila's Father") and Anisa is now known as "Mak Sheila" (literally, "Sheila's Mother").
Balinese people
The Betsileo people of Madagascar, in particular the Zafimaniry subgroup
the language of the Madurese people of Indonesia
the Mentawai people of Indonesia
Tao people of Taiwan
the Korean language; for example, if a Korean woman has a son named Su-min, she might be called Su-min Eomma (meaning "mother of Su-min")
the Arab world; for example, if a Saudi man named Hasan has a child named Zayn, Hasan will now be informally known as "Abu Zayn" (literally, "Father of Zayn"). "Mother of Malik" is Ummi Malik. This is known as a Kunya in Arabic.
Amazonia
the Zuni language
Swahili, as spoken in Tanzania and Kenya
to some extent, Habesha people in the Horn of Africa