Say My Name Campaign

As the Say My Name campaign comes to an end

I wanted to take some time to appreciate the unique naming conventions that can be found within cultures across the world.

Starting off with the Akan practices located within modern day Ivory coast and Ghana, where each name reflects a specific property of the child. The most common system known is the week system, and the child is assigned a name based on the day they arrived.

Day Male variant Female Variant Root (english meaning)

Sunday

(Kwesida) Kwesi Akosua, Esi Universe

Monday

(Jowda) Kojo Adwoa Peace

Tuesday

(Benada) Kwabena, Ebo Abena Ocean

Wednesday

(Wukuda) Kweku, Yooku Akua Spider (Sky)

thursday

(Yahwada) Yaw Yaa Earth

Friday

(Fida) Kofi Afua Fertility

Saturday

(Memeneda)Kwame Amba, Ama God

There are also other naming systems such as for the order of twins, a similar naming convention found with the Yoruba of Nigeria and for specific circumstances of which the child is born.

Following on from that I also wanted being attention to Yoruba naming conventions.

Naming children is based off of how you are born and traits about your family. The Yorubas have 5 categories for names. These names don't just have literal meanings but also describe attributes the child is perceived to have. These tend to be the first name given to the child.

Circumstantial names (Orúkọ Abísọ) reflect the conditions of the birth which becomes particularly important with twins, as their birth order will determine what name to be given.

An Oriki is a name given to a child based on what the parents believe them to be. These names aren't given to a child directly after their birth but rather as they grow up and they express their personality through their lifetime.

A lot of the names, transcendant across a lot of African cultures, have religious meanings to reflect the loving nature of God onto the child.

The Amhara have an interesting convention where children are given their father’s given name as a second name. This is called a patronymic system, reflective of many cultures of the world such as neighbouring Somalia. As a result women don’t adopt the name of their husbands after marriage. A child's first name will often be derived from religious beliefs.

Whilst incredibly interesting this is only a subsection of diverse naming practices found across the world. Even as the campaign finishes I encourage you to take to never stop seeking knowledge and to never stop being proud of your name.

Compiled and drafted by

Nana Fitt

BLN Diversity Lead