patrilineal

Patrilineal is a term used in anthropology and sociology to describe kinship and descent traced through the male line. A patrilineal descent group, or lineage, is a social unit whose membership is inherited from a common male ancestor, typically passing from fathers to their sons.

In patrilineal systems, property, titles, and sometimes political authority are transmitted along the male line. Children belong to their father’s lineage, and the father’s relatives—the paternal lineage—often determine inheritance rights, succession, and membership in lineage-based groups. Surnames and clan names are frequently passed from father to offspring.

Patrilineal organization does not by itself determine gender roles or power, but it often coincides with patriarchal norms in which men control key resources. In many societies patrilineal rules are reinforced by social practices such as patrilocal residence, where wives move to the husband’s household after marriage, although this is not universal.

Patrilineality is one method of tracing kinship and is contrasted with matrilineality, where membership and inheritance run through the female line, and with bilateral or cognatic systems, which recognize descent from both parents.

Patrilineal systems have appeared in diverse regions, including parts of Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe, in historical and contemporary contexts. As a descriptive concept, patrilineality helps explain patterns of inheritance, succession, naming, and social organization across cultures.