#african names

[kemetic-dreams]

Why do African Americans have British names?

Just as European immigrants' names would later be changed by officials at Ellis Island, Africans brought to the U.S. as slaves were generally stripped of their names and given the surname of their oppressor. These were often English names but could also be from other European countries.

A century-and-a-half after the end of slavery and I’m still identifying with the name of the slave-owner who once owned my family. That’s my house. Their house. That sucks. That’s a bone deep pain, one hidden and held in the letters of my last name. And after I posted my response tweet to Ava, that pain of slavery got me thinking of one question.

What if Black Americans ditched our slaves names? What if we cut that psychic chain that binds us to slavery in name and deed?

Malcolm X: “During slavery, the same slave master who owned us put his last name on us to denote that we were his property. So when you see a negro today who’s named Johnson, if you go back in his history you will find that his grandfather, or one of his forefathers, was owned by a white man who was named Johnson. If his name was Bunch, his grandfather was owned by a white man that was named Bunch.”

Interviewer: “I get your point. Would you mind telling me what your father’s name was?”

Malcolm X: “My father didn’t know his last name. My father got his last name from his grandfather, and his grandfather got it from his grandfather, who got it from the slave master. The real names of our people were destroyed during slavery.”

Think about that. No, for real. Think about that. If you aren’t black, you may have never considered what it means to walk around carrying the mark of your family’s slave master. If you think about it too much and too deeply and it’ll fuck you up. That’s probably why many, if not most, Black Americans never think about it. Not really. It’s just too dark and too visceral and too real to consciously remember that every day when you put your name on something you’re extending the reach of your former slave master.

Every time a black athlete is celebrated––unless it’s someone supremely woke like Muhammad Ali or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar or even Metta World Peace, who consciously changed their name to suit themselves––that world famous athlete makes their family’s former slave master more famous. Same for every black CEO, every actress or actor, every black politician, and every black activist. When their name shows up in the press they honor and extend their family’s former slave master’s memory. That’s fucked up. Which is why Muhammad Ali said this of his birth name:

“Cassius Clay is a slave name. I didn’t choose it and I don’t want it. I am Muhammad Ali, a free name — it means beloved of God, and I insist people use it when people speak to me.”

Most white people in America have never considered what it means to walk around with the name of the family that once owned your family. Just imagine if all Black America changed their names on the same day.

The name Taraji is a unisex name of Swahili origin that means "hope" and "faith". It's commonly used in Eastern African cultures, especially among Swahili-speaking communities. The name is passed down through generations and is celebrated globally.

The name Ashanti has multiple meanings, including "gratitude," "thank you," and "warlike": 

Gratitude: The name Ashanti is a girl's name of Ghanaian origin that means "gratitude". 

Thank you: The name Ashanti is derived from the Swahili word asante, which means "thank you". 

Warlike: The name Ashanti is also said to mean "warlike".

Meaning of Afẹ́ni

One who loves another.

The name Chiwetel means "God brings" in Igbo. 

The name "Olubowale" is a combination of the Yoruba names "Olú" and "wale" and could mean "My God/Lord has come home": 

OlúA popular name among the Yoruba ethnic group, "Olú" is a diminutive of "Olúwa" and can mean "God," "deity," or "lord". In some parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo, the word "Olú" is even used as a royal or noble title. 

WaleThe name "wale" is associated with the Yoruba people, who primarily live in southwestern Nigeria and parts of Benin and Togo.

[cepheusgalaxy]

Name help!

There I was, thinking it was a good time to look for a new name, and then I asked my mom, what name she would give me if it has to be neutral. She told me she didn't know, but she would definitively look for something african.

This made me think, and I really liked the idea of looking for neutral african names for myself.

So, I made a research, and decided to post here some of my favorite names. If you guys are looking for something alike, this may help!

Most of this names are neutral but not all

Ada

This name means first daughter and I think it's very pretty

Baakir

This one means first son

Baako

Baako means "firstborn" and is unisex/neutral

Jameela

Unisex, this one and all its variarions. Usually means "beautiful" when used for girls or "virgin" if used for boys. But there's no problem if we keep the two meanings, I guess. You can use it as a very sexy ace

Lali

This is a masculine name and means "flexible"

Maha

"Beautiful eyes". This name is feminine

Nala, or Naliah (You may remember this one from The Lion King)

Is feminine and means "sucessful"

Taj

"The exalted". Masculine. Also, the way it is written in sanscrit also stands for "crown"

Tanishia

Born in a monday. Neutral. (Some names I found means things like "born in a saturday" "youngest twin" or "first born" and things like that and I think it's pretty cool)

Ayo

Neutral. Means "hapiness"

Eno

Neutral too. Means "gift"

Ode

"Born on a road". Also neutral but is more used for girls.

Abayomi

"Born to bring huge hapiness". Unisex

Lueji

"Monarch". For what I've get, it's more used for girls

Dyami

Means "eagle", and is neutral

Kieza

This one is a girl's. It means "the one who comes"

Imani

"Faith". Neutral

Bahati

I love this one. It means "luck" (Also neutral)

Rutendo

This one sounds really strong for me. Neither exactly for girls nor boys. Also means "faith"

Amahle

"Among the beautiest". This is usually used for girls but is actually unisex

Dayo

"Hapiness has come". Neutral

Adisa

And a really graceful one, Adisa. This here is masculine and stands for "the one who will teach us"

[writingwithcolor]

Naming International POC Characters: Do Your Research.

This post is part of a double feature for the same ask. First check out Mod Colette's answer to OP's original question at: A Careful Balance: Portraying a Black Character's Relationship with their Hair. Below are notes on character naming from Mod Rina.

~ ~ ~

@writingraccoon said:

My character is black in a dungeons and dragons-like fantasy world. His name is Kazuki Haile (pronounced hay-lee), and his mother is this world's equivalent of Japanese, which is where his first name is from, while his father is this world's equivalent of Ethiopian, which is where his last name is from. He looks much more like his father, and has hair type 4a. [...]

Hold on a sec.

Haile (pronounced hay-lee), [...] [H]is father is this world’s equivalent of Ethiopian, which is where his last name is from. 

OP, where did you get this name? Behindthename.com, perhaps?

Note how it says, “Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. Check marks indicate the level to which a name has been verified.” Do you see any check marks, OP? 

What language is this, by the way? If we only count official languages, Ethiopia has 5: Afar, Amharic, Oromo, Somali, & Tigrinya. If we count everything native to that region? Over 90 languages. And I haven't even mentioned the dormant/extinct ones. Do you know which language this name comes from? Have you determined Kazuki’s father’s ethnic group, religion, and language(s)? Do you know just how ethnically diverse Ethiopia is? 

~ ~ ~

To All Looking for Character Names on the Internet:

Skip the name aggregators and baby name lists. They often do not cite their sources, even if they’re pulling from credible ones, and often copy each other. 

If you still wish to use a name website, find a second source that isn’t a name website. 

Find at least one real life individual, living or dead, who has this given name or surname. Try Wikipedia’s lists of notable individuals under "List of [ethnicity] people." You can even try searching Facebook! Pay attention to when these people were born for chronological accuracy/believability. 

Make sure you know the language the name comes from, and the ethnicity/culture/religion it’s associated with. 

Make sure you understand the naming practices of that culture—how many names, where they come from, name order, and other conventions. 

Make sure you have the correct pronunciation of the name. Don’t always trust Wikipedia or American pronunciation guides on Youtube. Try to find a native speaker or language lesson source, or review the phonology & orthography and parse out the string one phoneme at a time. 

Suggestions for web sources:

Wikipedia! Look for: “List of [language] [masculine/feminine] given names,” “List of most common [language] family names,” “List of most common surnames in [continent],” and "List of [ethnicity] people."  

Census data! Harder to find due to language barriers & what governments make public, but these can really nail period accuracy. This may sound obvious, but look at the year of the character's birth, not the year your story takes place. 

Forums and Reddit. No really. Multicultural couples and expats will often ask around for what to name their children. There’s also r/namenerds, where so many folks have shared names in their language that they now have “International Name Threads.” These are all great first-hand sources for name connotations—what’s trendy vs. old-fashioned, preppy vs. nerdy, or classic vs. overused vs. obscure. 

~ ~ ~

Luckily for OP, I got very curious and did some research. More on Ethiopian & Eritrean naming, plus mixed/intercultural naming and my recommendations for this character, under the cut. It's really interesting, I promise!

Ethiopian and Eritrean Naming Practices

Haile (IPA: /həjlə/ roughly “hy-luh.” Both a & e are /ə/, a central “uh” sound) is a phrase meaning “power of” in Ge’ez, sometimes known as Classical Ethiopic, which is an extinct/dormant Semitic language that is now used as a liturgical language in Ethiopian churches (think of how Latin & Sanskrit are used today). So it's a religious name, and was likely popularized by the regnal name of the last emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie (“Power of the Trinity”). Ironically, for these reasons it is about as nationalistically “Ethiopian” as a name can get.

Haile is one of the most common “surnames” ever in Ethiopia and Eritrea. Why was that in quotes? Because Ethiopians and Eritreans don’t have surnames. Historically, when they needed to distinguish themselves from others with the same given name, they affixed their father’s given name, and then sometimes their grandfather’s. In modern Ethiopia and Eritrea, their given name is followed by a parent’s (usually father’s) name. First-generation diaspora abroad may solidify this name into a legal “surname” which is then consistently passed down to subsequent generations.

Intercultural Marriages and Naming

This means that Kazuki’s parents will have to figure out if there will be a “surname” going forward, and who it applies to. Your easiest and most likely option is that Kazuki’s dad would have chosen to make his second name (Kazuki’s grandpa’s name) the legal “surname.” The mom would have taken this name upon marriage, and Kazuki would inherit it also. Either moving abroad or the circumstances of the intercultural marriage would have motivated this. Thus “Haile” would be grandpa’s name, and Kazuki wouldn’t be taking his “surname” from his dad. This prevents the mom & Kazuki from having different “surnames.” But you will have to understand and explain where the names came from and the decisions dad made to get there. Otherwise, this will ring culturally hollow and indicate a lack of research.

Typically intercultural parents try to

come up with a first name that is pronounceable in both languages,

go with a name that is the dominant language of where they live, or

compromise and pick one parent’s language, depending on the circumstances.

Option 1 and possibly 3 requires figuring out which language is the father’s first language. Unfortunately, because of the aforementioned national ubiquity of Haile, you will have to start from scratch here and figure out his ethnic group, religion (most are Ethiopian Orthodox and some Sunni Muslim), and language(s). 

But then again, writing these characters knowledgeably and respectfully also requires figuring out that information anyway.

~ ~ ~

Names and naming practices are so, so diverse. Do research into the culture and language before picking a name, and never go with only one source.

~ Mod Rina

[starrysharks]

this game is a joke

[neechees]

Ever notice how everytime there's an ignorant person using the excuse of "it's the American education system's fault" it's almost always pertaining to information about other cultures/ethnicities or countries, usually ones designated as not "White" (ex: that Africa isnt a country, that Mexico has cities) and not things like. Science or Math.

[can-of-pringles]

Shout out to one of my favorite bugs, Giant African Armored crickets, this color/pattern specially, their eyes are goofy. No thoughts head empty

[heartnosekid]

golden african emperor butterfly (nudaurelia dione) | source

[show-stoppin-enby]

Behold! Hamid the cactus!

[ellie-makes-mbs]

name moodboard for “hafsa” for @arestoucries

[obsessd]

Tolu Coker Ready-To-Wear F/W 2024

[kemetic-dreams]

Adut Akech was born in Sudan (in an area that later became part of South Sudan), but was raised in Kakuma, Kenya. Akech was born on Christmas Day, on the way to Kenya. She was 7 years old when she moved from Kenya along with her mother to Adelaide, Australia as South Sudanese refugees seeking asylum. They also had relatives there. Akech has five siblings.

 Akech was known as "Mary", her Christian second name in Adelaide, as Australian teachers found it difficult to pronounce her name.

Be proud of African names, and stop falling into the trap of saying all African names are hard to pronounce. Like European names are easy

[welcometoteyvat]

if youre satisfied with this amount of rep i'll be happy for you and if you want vastly more from hoyo especially concerning skin tone i will completely agree with you but if you're non latam/african/indigenous american/pacific islander, i'm side eyeing so hard if you start making excuses for genshin's colorist ass

[6h37]

feral

--|-|--

"Skip! Skip, listen to me! Think about what you're doing!"

The raptorial shriek he got in response was not the kid he knew.

Her deep brown irises were narrowed to animalistic slits, teeth bared as she tried to wrestle him out of the sky. She was looking for a meal, and she had found one.

"You're better than this, Skip, snap out of it!"

He couldn't take his eyes off hers; the silver accents of her uniform bottoms and the primal look in her eyes was harrowing. To become feral was like a disease, starting slow until it overtook your mind completely. He had seen many synths succumb; not even the highest-ranking Diamonds were immune to it.

But his kid...

They spiralled towards the dusty grassland below. Not sixteen hours ago they were skipping rocks, the pastime that had borne her name, and now she didn't know him.

She warned him, she warned him days ago, he knew it. He had joked and she did not laugh.

"Skip, please!"

[despazito]

It feels unfair to ridicule that Russian family who fled to the mountains for half of the 20th century and missed any news of world war 2 when we got people with smartphones and access to unlimited human knowledge at their fingertips not knowing Yugoslavia is gone

[calamitys-child]

Everyone tell me something nice from your day im having a real bad one dose me up with mundane joy

[jackalbuzzards]

local gymnogene doing sick parkour

what a beast