Naming conventions in Ethiopia and Eritrea

The naming convention used in Ethiopia and Eritrea does not have family names and typically consists of an individual personal name and a separate patronymic. This is similar to Arabic or Icelandic naming convention. Although traditionally the lineage is traced paternally, legislation has been passed in Eritrea that allows for this to be done on the maternal side as well.

The word "Habesha" (English "Abyssinian") is an ethnonym for the Amhara, Tigray-Tigrinya, Tigre, Gurage, and Harari peoples. The naming convention broadly applies to this group, although it also does so for people within the Omotic and Cushitic language groups.

In this convention, children are given a name at birth, by which name they will be known. To differentiate from others in the same generation with the same name, their father's first name and sometimes grandfather's first name is added. This may continue ad infinitum. In the West, this is often mistaken for a surname (family name)—but unlike European names, different generations do not have the same second or third names.