Habesha names (Eritreans and Ethiopians) are constructed in a fashion similar to Arabic name convention. In this convention there are no family names. Instead one is known through their lineage. Traditionally this is done paternally however, legislation has been passed in Eritrea that allows for this to be done on the maternal side as well.

In this convention a child is given a name at birth and this is the name they will be known by. To differentiate from others in the same generation with the same name a person will give his father's first name. In the West this is often confused for a surname (family name), however, unlike a surname, it is not passed on to the next generation as a "second name". This may continue ad nauseam.

In marriage, unlike in the West the woman does not change her name. This would seem obvious, as the second name is not a surname, however, it is frequently misunderstood.

Example of an Eritrean family tree explained below.

In the example above, the progenitors, Senai and Feiven, may be differentiated from others in their generation by his and her father's name. For ex. Senai and Feiven have fathers with first names Abraham and Tewolde respectively. They are the father and mother of a daughter, and son who are each married. The son and daughter each had a child. The first who had a child would name their child Ammanuel. The next sibling to have a child would give their child a different first name. It is against costom to name a child after a living family member. Ammanuel and his cousin would each get their fathers first name for their last.

In the diaspora, this method is sometimes dropped in favor of adopting the grandfather's name (father's "last name") as a surname, while, in many cases, the father's first name becomes the child's middle name.