Daily Ancestorpatris ignoti
Patris ignoti is Latin for of an unknown father, written in a baptism entry when the father was not named.
Patris ignoti means of an unknown father. The BYU list of common phrases gives it next to ignoti parentis, of unknown parentage.
The child was usually born outside marriage, and the mother is normally named. A later marriage of the mother, or a note added in the margin, can sometimes name the father.
As seen in a recordLatin baptism register, Bavaria, 1820s
Josephus, filius Mariae Tamberl, patris ignoti
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Daily Ancestor. "patris ignoti." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/latin/patris-ignoti. Last checked 2026-10-12.