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“Thankgod”: Times African Parents Chose Violence And Named Children Anything And Everything
There’s this common phrase “God-given name.” But names aren’t given by God; it’s our parents who decide what to name us. And many people wish they could name themselves since they really hate the names their parents give them. In fact, 76% of Brits say they don’t like their names and wish to be called something else.
Some names can be straight-up funny, and I’m not talking about Amanda Kissinghug, Mike Rotch, or I.P. Freely. Recently, creator Victor Alfred, aka @victoralfred11, made a comedy skit about the unusual names that African parents give their children. Other people have noticed this phenomenon as well, sharing some unique names they’ve come across, like Commission, Thankgod, and Blessing.
RELATED:
Some parents love to give their children unique names, but African parents might have everyone else beat
Image credits: Curated Lifestyle (not the actual photo)
One comedian recently made a skit about how African parents seem to be naming their children anything and everything
Image source: @victoralfred11
His video racked up over a million views
@victoralfred11♬ original sound – Victor Alfred
Some African parents really do try to manifest better lives for their children by giving them certain names
For us, Westerners, African naming practices might seem odd. That one commenter wasn’t far off when she said, “Naming things they’re manifesting.” In some African cultures, parents really believe that names have power, and that the kind of name you give your child will heavily influence their life’s path.
One of the most prominent examples may be former Nigerian President Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan. Although he didn’t have much luck in his political career (he was the first president not to be re-elected), his parents certainly tried to manifest it.
Jonathan’s late father is quoted in one of his biographies as saying, “I called him Goodluck because although life was hard for me when he was born, I had this feeling that this boy would bring me good luck.”
Many Nigerians also tend to name their children according to this criteria:
- Circumstances of their birth;
- Position in the family;
- Hopes for the child’s future.
As Nigerian novelist and humorist Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani writes for The BBC, apart from their surname, many Nigerians have as many as five or six additional names. In the traditions of the West African ethnic group Yoruba, each parent and grandparent contribute one name.
For example, a child from their ethnic group might be named Taiwo Peter Tokunbo Olamide. ‘Taiwo’ means that he’s the first of the two twins. ‘Peter’ is his Christian name, while ‘Tokunbo’ refers to the fact that he was born abroad. And ‘Olamide’ means “my wealth/success has arrived.”
Generally, there are eight main factors that influence traditional African names
Image credits: Getty Images (not the actual photo)
There are many different ethnic groups in Africa, and naming practices may differ from one to another. Yet, there are some common elements that determine what name parents give their baby across the different cultures. Ghanian correspondent for the BBC, Adelaide Arthur, names these eight naming practices as the most common:
- Family circumstances during the child’s birth. Oftentimes, such names are complete sentences. The Yoruba people name girls Yetunde or Yewande (meaning “mother has come back”) when a female relative has passed away shortly before the birth. Similarly, in Sesotho and Xhosa families in South Africa, babies are named Kgomotso and Pumza (meaning “comfort”) after a family passing.
- Warnings or rebukes. Some parents try to avoid a bad fate by naming their kids after their misfortunes. Some Zimbabwean names of this kind are Nhamo (misfortune), Manyara (you have been humbled), and even those translated into English, like Kissmore, Jealous, Furious, or Hardlife.
- After famous people. Westerners aren’t the only ones naming their kids after celebrities (Kim, Sabrina, and Justin are the most popular names among Gen Z parents). After Barack Obama’s election in 2008, one mother from Kisumu, Kenya, named her newborn baby AirForceOne Barack Obama.
- By order of birth. Many children are named by whether they are the firstborn, the secondborn, etc. It saves them some time: they don’t have to explain whether they’re the oldest or the youngest. And this is especially true with twins. In Uganda, boys named Kakuru or Wasswa are most likely the elder twin.
- According to the day of the week. In Ghanian ethnic groups such as the Akan, Ga, Ewe, and Nzema, the day when the baby is born determines what their name will be. If a boy is born on a Monday, he’ll be Kojo, and Adwoa if it’s a girl. A Friday baby girl will be named Efua, and a boy will have the name Yaw.
- According to religious beliefs. One Ghanian couple named their baby Xolawubo, meaning ‘the creator’ (God). In Ethiopia, there is a Hailemariam, meaning “the power of Mary.” In the Igbo and Yoruba ethnic groups in Nigeria, names that start with Chi-, Chukwu-, or Oluwa- refer to God.
- Depending on the day or season. The Kalenjin people in Kenya name their babies Kibet if they’re born during the day and Kiplagat if they’re born after sunset.
- Honoring the family elders. In Southern Africa, it’s not unusual to name babies after their grandmothers or grandfathers. But, because it’s often disrespectful to call out a deceased elder’s name out loud, the children are affectionately called Ouma (grandma) or Oupa (grandpa).
People shared many ridiculous names they’ve come across in real life
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Roxy222uk 2 months ago
I love being reminded that the way we do things in our culture isn’t the only way, and isn’t the ‘correct’ way either! I’ve always said ‘name your kids what you want and teach them not to be bullies to others’. I used to work with a lot of people that had come to the UK from all over the world when I trained care workers. It was actually my boss that told an African man ‘very funny, now put your real name on your name card’ when he put Bigboy. I can see that this would feel like a very lucky name to give a baby, although unfortunately has a very specific meaning in the West. My boss couldn’t apologise enough!
Mabelbabel 2 months ago
The naming traditions sound logical and reasonable. "Ourblessing' is a much better name than "Jeaux'neigh-ton" ('its pronounced Johnathan but we wanted him to be unique...")
Lyop 2 months ago
Our presidents name was Goodluck Jonathan. There are so many Godsgifts, Godspower's, Godwin's.....I'm Patience, but I dropped that (like wth!)!
Auntriarch 2 months ago
Good to hear the reasons behind the names. Reminds me of puritan naming practices. I had an aunt named Prudence, though she turned out anything but.
Roxy222uk 2 months ago
Patience used to be a pretty common name in the UK too.
Load More Replies...
Anonymous Fox 2 months ago
I've got a set of twins at my school named Miraclemina and Miraclenina.
T'Mar of Vulcan 2 months ago
In Zim they really name kids weird things, like Solar Power or Shakespeare. After that, South African names like Linda (for a boy), Happy, Passion, etc. seem tame!
Peter Bear 2 months ago
This has nothing to do with race or skin color. And if you don't believe me, ask Damned Barebones (English), Zephyrine, Marmaduke, or the girl I knew whose hippie parents named her Fruit Salad. Yes, that was her legal name.
Susann 2 months ago
As I work in an international environment, I've heard a lot of names, but one that will always stick with me is Mr Innocent Mugabe...
blackrose00786 2 months ago
my fellow south Africans come to the front of the class for 10 marks 🤣
Ge Po 2 months ago
Most European names, especially the ones that have been around for a long time, were originally words, or combinations of words, that had a certain meaning. Some you can still recognise today, like girls names that are flowers. There's boys names that were (or still are) animals, trees, names like Forrester, Storm, any boy name ending with man like Herman, Norman, would mean something like 'the one from ...' My very european birth name means something like 'loyal spear woman' (ending with Da).
Skywitness 2 months ago
My wife worked with a woman named Torsche because it rhymed with the car manufacturer Porsche. I was in basic training with a man named Tronzilla.
Roxy222uk 2 months ago
I love being reminded that the way we do things in our culture isn’t the only way, and isn’t the ‘correct’ way either! I’ve always said ‘name your kids what you want and teach them not to be bullies to others’. I used to work with a lot of people that had come to the UK from all over the world when I trained care workers. It was actually my boss that told an African man ‘very funny, now put your real name on your name card’ when he put Bigboy. I can see that this would feel like a very lucky name to give a baby, although unfortunately has a very specific meaning in the West. My boss couldn’t apologise enough!
Mabelbabel 2 months ago
The naming traditions sound logical and reasonable. "Ourblessing' is a much better name than "Jeaux'neigh-ton" ('its pronounced Johnathan but we wanted him to be unique...")
Lyop 2 months ago
Our presidents name was Goodluck Jonathan. There are so many Godsgifts, Godspower's, Godwin's.....I'm Patience, but I dropped that (like wth!)!
Auntriarch 2 months ago
Good to hear the reasons behind the names. Reminds me of puritan naming practices. I had an aunt named Prudence, though she turned out anything but.
Roxy222uk 2 months ago
Patience used to be a pretty common name in the UK too.
Load More Replies... Anonymous Fox 2 months ago
I've got a set of twins at my school named Miraclemina and Miraclenina.
T'Mar of Vulcan 2 months ago
In Zim they really name kids weird things, like Solar Power or Shakespeare. After that, South African names like Linda (for a boy), Happy, Passion, etc. seem tame!
Peter Bear 2 months ago
This has nothing to do with race or skin color. And if you don't believe me, ask Damned Barebones (English), Zephyrine, Marmaduke, or the girl I knew whose hippie parents named her Fruit Salad. Yes, that was her legal name.
Susann 2 months ago
As I work in an international environment, I've heard a lot of names, but one that will always stick with me is Mr Innocent Mugabe...
blackrose00786 2 months ago
my fellow south Africans come to the front of the class for 10 marks 🤣
Ge Po 2 months ago
Most European names, especially the ones that have been around for a long time, were originally words, or combinations of words, that had a certain meaning. Some you can still recognise today, like girls names that are flowers. There's boys names that were (or still are) animals, trees, names like Forrester, Storm, any boy name ending with man like Herman, Norman, would mean something like 'the one from ...' My very european birth name means something like 'loyal spear woman' (ending with Da).
Skywitness 2 months ago
My wife worked with a woman named Torsche because it rhymed with the car manufacturer Porsche. I was in basic training with a man named Tronzilla.
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