This pancocojams post presents a small list of Yoruba names with the prefix "Ifa" or the prefix "Fa", a shortened form of "Ifa".
This is the second post in an ongoing series on Yoruba (Nigeria) given names/surnames that include an orisa prefix or suffix and given names/surnames that otherwise refer to traditional Yoruba religion. Click the tag "traditional Yoruba religious given names/surnames" for other pancocojams posts in this series.
I began this series on prefixes and suffixes in Yoruba names with examples of names with the prefix "Ogun" or the prefix "Ifa" because of a comment that was written in 2013 in a nairaland.com discussion on Yoruba names that names that begin with "Ogun" or names that begin with "Ifa" are among the most popular names among Yorubas. (That comment is given below in the section entitled "Comments About Yoruba Religious Names".)
The content of this post is presented for etymological and cultural purposes.
All content remains with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
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INFORMATION ABOUT YORUBA NAMES
Here's an excerpt from the "Yoruba Names And Their Meanings" chapter in Fela Sowande's 1966 book The Mind Of A Nation- The Yoruba Child (Ibadan: Ibadan University, 1966). In addition to the information described in the chapter's title, this excerpt provides specific information about the meaning of "Ifa" and identifies three elements in Yoruba names that refer to "Ifa".
"Page 41
Yoruba names are therefore much more than mere identification tags, much more than mere "luggage labels"; each has a reason (a) for being just what it is; and (b) for being given to a particular individual. Yoruba names embody circumstances of birth, history, family, religion, or some other equally pertinent facts relevant to that particular individual bearing the name. Yoruba names are, in fact, in most cases contractions of whole sentences
[...]
Page 42
Therefore, it is proper and valid to derive the meanings of Yoruba words-certainly of Yoruba proper names-by amplifying them into their original components, thus getting at the meaning of the word, or name, by summation of the meanings of its individual components. This process we might term "derivation through amplification." It is a valid process, but within certain limits only, and with the added proviso that, in amplifying words into their original components, we do not play about with tonal inflections, without clear and justifiable reasons.
But for the moment we are primarily concerned with the distinctive character of Yoruba names. … In Yorubaland, on the contrary, the name itself tell us so many things about that thing or person bearing that name....
Page 43
It is therefore one of the basic characteristics of Yoruba names that they are meaningful in a precise and specific way, and that they contain, virtually, the essence of the nature or being of the thing named, be it a town, or a person, a leaf, an animal, a tree, or even man-made objects like drums, baskets, water-pots, etcetera.
[...]
Note on Numbers 41 to 50 above
"Ifa" has no one definition that is generally acceptable; it is ofen referred to as an oraculrar deity, or as a god of divination, or as something else….
Yoruba traditionalists aver, simply, that "Ifa" is "Oro" "The Word," which was in the beginning, and was with God, and was God, without which was nothing made that was made. As such, Ifa, is a symbolic name for an intangible Spiritual Something, which cannot be confined in language, however subtle, or in speech, however poetic….
In the region of Yoruba proper names, the presence of IFA is made evident by the prefixes: "Odu," "Awo," and "Fa," which is a shortened form of Ifa. Both Odu and Awo symbolise "that which is holy, a sacred Mystery," or
Page 51
imply "the adept" as in the Yoruba term Babalawo" which may perhaps be amplified into "Baba ti o no awo," i. e. "A Father who is in possession of the knowledge of the Mysteries," where "father " is used in the same sense as in "a Catholic Father." "Babalawo" is, however, more properly "Baba ninu awo," or "One who is in the position of Father among those who have knowledge of the mysteries," rather than like someone who has obtained his Master's Degree in our academic world."...
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/11/yoruba-names-and-their-meeanings-by.html for a 2014 pancocojams post which presents the complete chapter on Yoruba names from that book by Fela Sowande.
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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE
Yoruba names can be used as given names (first or middle name). Yoruba names can also be surnames (family names; last names), or titles.
**
From what I've read, a number of Yoruba names are unisex, meaning they can be given to males or to females.
**
A Yoruba woman who I met decades ago in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania suggested that I use the vowel sounds for Spanish for Yoruba pronunciation (for instance "a"= "ah", "e"= "a", "i"="e", "o"=oh, "u"=oo". This is probably not the way that Yoruba vowels are always pronounced.
**
Most of the Yoruba names that are found online are given without the accent mark or accent marks that they have in Yoruba writing. I assume that those marks determine how those names are pronounced.
I'm not sure if there is a standard rule for which syllable in Yoruba words/names is usually emphasized. Although it probably isn't correct, I've gotten into the habit of applying the same rule for pronouncing Yoruba (and other non-English languages) that Americans (people in the United States) use for most "English" words, including names: Put the emphasis on the second to the last syllable. Using that rule, the name "Olatunji" is pronounced "oh-lah-TOON-jee.", but that may not be the way that Yoruba name is supposed to be pronounced.
I'd love to know how these words are really pronounced by Yorubas.
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COMMENTS ABOUT YORUBA RELIGIOUS NAMES
Pancocojams Editor's Note:
Here are two comments from a fifteen page nairaland.com discussion on Yoruba names that began in November 2013.
The original poster [OP] provided a long list of Yoruba given names/surnames, but was criticized by some commenters because that list didn't include any names that began with the names of orisas (orishas), such as names beginning with the prefix "Ogun". However, that list did include names that began with the names or clips of names for the Supreme God in the Yoruba religion ("Oluwa"; Olorun"). Those names are used by Yoruba Christians to refer to God.
1.
From
http://www.nairaland.com/1506134/lists-yoruba-names-english-meaning/3
Re: Lists Of Yoruba Names And Their English Meaning. by PAGAN9JA(m): 3:34pm On Nov 09, 2013
..."THE OP IS BIASED!
ANY NAMES WHICH HAVE TO DO WITH YORUBA RELIGION WAS LEFT OUT! AND THOSE NAMES ARE VERY COMMON ONES!"...
**
2.
From http://www.nairaland.com/1506134/lists-yoruba-names-english-meaning/5
Re: Lists Of Yoruba Names And Their English Meaning. by tayooluwole: 4:06pm On Nov 09, 2013
...
what abt the 'Ifa',mayb you can help us with that...
OGUN: GOD of iron...
IFA: oracle beleived in yorubaland(typical yoruba society) to be a messanger and intermediary btw humanbeing and GOD...
OYA: wife of GOD of IRON...
Names having OGUN nd IFA as prefix are undisputeably d most popular nd acient surnames in Yorubaland... I am proud to be OGUNYEMI...dis does nt mean i they worship God of iron oooooo"
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PARTIAL LIST OF NAMES WITH "IFA" PREFIX
In his chapter on Yoruba names Fela Sowande wrote that "In the region of Yoruba proper names, the presence of IFA is made evident by the prefixes: "Odu," "Awo," and "Fa," which is a shortened form of Ifa."
However, this post only includes ten examples of Yoruba names that begin with "Ifa" and ten examples of Yoruba names that begin with "Fa".
This list was gleaned from http://yorubaname.com/ Yoruba Name.com pages and this post contains all the information that was given for each of these selected names.
There are many more names with these prefixes on those yorubanames.com pages. These examples were randomly selected by me. Unlike most online pages of Yoruba names, examples of names given on yorubanames.com includes (accent?) marks. That said, I'm still not certain how each of those names are pronounced.
I've divided these names into two Parts and assigned numbers to these names for referencing purposes only.
PART #1: PARTIAL LIST OF YORUBA NAMES WITH THE PREFIX "IFA"
1.
http://yorubaname.com/entries/if%C3%A1d%E1%BB%8D%CC%81w%E1%BB%8D%CC%81l%C3%A9
"ifádọ́wọ́lé
Meaning of ifádọ́wọ́lé
Ifá laid hands on this (child for protection).
Morphology
ifá-dá-ọwọ́-lé
Gloss
Ifá - Ifá divination/corpus/priesthood
dá...lé - put on top of
ọwọ́ - hands
Geolocation
Common in:
GENERAL"
****
2.
http://yorubaname.com/entries/If%C3%A1l%C3%A9r%C3%A8
"Ifálérè
Meaning of Ifálérè
Ifá (worship) has gains.
Morphology
ifá-ní-èrè
Gloss
Ifá - Ifá divination/corpus/priesthood
ní - have
èrè - gain, benefit
Geolocation
Common in:
GENERAL"
****
3.
http://yorubaname.com/entries/Ifa%CD%81l%E1%BB%8Dla%CD%81
"Ifálọlá
Meaning of Ifálọlá
Ifa is wealth."
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4.
http://yorubaname.com/entries/Ifa%CC%81fu%CC%81nk%E1%BA%B9%CC%81
"Ifáfúnkẹ́
Meaning of Ifáfúnkẹ́
Ifá gave me to cherish.
Morphology
ifá-fún-mi-kẹ́
Gloss
ifá - Ifá divination
fún - give
mi - me
kẹ́ - cherish, nurture
Geolocation
Common in:
GENERAL"
****
5
http://yorubaname.com/entries/If%C3%A1l%C3%B2kun
"Ifálòkun
Meaning of Ifálòkun
Ifá is the ocean (is as wide, as deep, as bountiful as the ocean).
Morphology
ifá-ni-òkun
Gloss
ifá - Ifá divination/corpus/priesthood
ni - is
òkun – ocean
****
6.
http://yorubaname.com/entries/Ifa%CD%81l%E1%BB%8Ddu%CD%81n
Ifálọdún
Meaning of Ifálọdún
Ifa is festivity.
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7.
http://yorubaname.com/entries/Ifa%CD%81lade%CD%81
Ifáladé
Meaning of Ifáladé
Ifa is the crown."
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8.
http://yorubaname.com/entries/Ifa%CC%81da%CC%81i%CC%80ro%CC%81
"Ifádáìró
Meaning of Ifádáìró
Ifá kept this from going away.
Extended Meaning
A name for a perceived àbíkú child, held back by the powers of Ifá from returning to the land of the dead.
Morphology
ifá-dá-èyí-ró
Gloss
ifa - Ifá (oracle)
dá...ró - stop, hold back
èyí - this (one)"
****
9.
http://yorubaname.com/entries/Ifa%CC%81day%E1%BB%8D%CC%80mi
Ifádayọ̀mi
Meaning of Ifádayọ̀mi
Ifá becomes my joy.
Morphology
ifá-di-ayọ̀-mi
Gloss
ifá - Ifá divination
di - become
ayọ̀ - joy, happiness
mi - me
Geolocation
Common in:
GENERAL
****
10.
http://yorubaname.com/entries/Ifa%CC%81y%E1%BA%B9mi%CC%81
Ifáyẹmí
Meaning of Ifáyẹmí
Ifá suits me
Morphology
ifá-yẹ-mí
Gloss
ifá - Ifá divination
yẹ - befit, fits, suits, is worthy of
mí – me
****
PART #1: PARTIAL LIST OF YORUBA NAMES WITH THE PREFIX "FA"
1.
http://yorubaname.com/entries/Fa%CC%81f%E1%BB%8Dre
"Fáfọre
Meaning of Fáfọre
Ifá speaks positively.
Morphology
ifá-fọ-ire
Gloss
Ifá - Ifá divination/corpus/priesthood
fọ̀ - speak
ire – goodness"
****
2.
http://yorubaname.com/entries/Fa%CC%81%E1%B9%A3%E1%BB%8Dr%E1%BB%8D%CC%80
"Fáṣọrọ̀
Meaning of Fáṣọrọ̀
Ifá makes wealth.
Morphology
ifá-ṣe-ọrọ̀
Gloss
ifá - Ifá (oracle)
se - do
ọrọ̀ - wealth
Geolocation
Common in:
EKITI
GENERAL
Variants
Fásọrọ̀, Fáshọrọ̀"
****
3.
http://yorubaname.com/entries/F%C3%A1k%C3%A1y%C3%A9j%E1%BB%8D
"Fákáyéjọ
Meaning of Fákáyéjọ
Ifá brings the universe together.
Morphology
(i)fá-kó-ayé-jọ
Gloss
ifá - Ifá divination
kó...jọ - gather
ayé - earth, world, people
Geolocation
Common in:
GENERAL"
****
4.
http://yorubaname.com/entries/If%C3%A1ka%CC%81r%C3%A0d%C3%A9
"Ifákáràdé
Meaning of Ifákáràdé
Ifá came with wonders.
Morphology
ifá-kó-àrà-dé
Gloss
ifá - Ifá divination/corpus/priesthood
kó...dé - bring in big batches
àrà - wonders
Geolocation
Common in:
GENERAL
Variants
Káràdé"
5.
http://yorubaname.com/entries/F%C3%A1f%E1%BA%B9%CC%81mi
"Fáfẹ́mi
Meaning of Fáfẹ́mi
Ifá loves me.
Morphology
(i)fá-fẹ́-mi
Gloss
ifá - Ifá divination
fẹ́ - love, want, desire
mi - me
Geolocation
Common in:
GENERAL"
****
6.
http://yorubaname.com/entries/Fa%CC%81di%CC%80yi%CC%81mu%CC%81
"Fádìyímú
Meaning of Fádìyímú
Ifá upheld this one.
Morphology
ifá-di-èyí-mú
Gloss
Ifá - Ifá divination/corpus/priesthood
dì...mú - hold onto
èyí - this (one/child)
Geolocation
Common in:
GENERAL"
****
7.
http://yorubaname.com/entries/Fa%CC%81tu%CC%81nmbi%CC%81
"Fátúnmbí
Meaning of Fátúnmbí
Ifá has given me a second birth.
Morphology
ifá-tún-mi-bí
Gloss
ifá - ọ̀rúnmìlà, Yorùbá god of knowledge, intellect, wisdom
tún - re, again, redo
mi - me
bí - to birth
Geolocation
Common in:
OTHERS"
-snip-
"Others" = various locations in Yorubaland [?]
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8.
http://yorubaname.com/entries/F%C3%A1b%C3%B3y%C3%A8
"Fábóyè
Meaning of Fábóyè
Ifá meets chiefdom.
Morphology
(i)fá-bá-oyè
Gloss
ifá - Ifá divination/priesthood/corpus
bá - meet
oyè - honour, chieftaincy title
Geolocation
Common in:
GENERAL
Variants
Bóyè, Ifábóyè"
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9.
http://yorubaname.com/entries/Fa%CC%81s%E1%BA%B9wa%CC%80
"Fásẹwà
Meaning of Fásẹwà
Ifá makes beauty.
Morphology
ifá-se-ẹwà
Gloss
ifá - Ifá (oracle)
se - do, make
ẹwà - beauty, adornment
Geolocation
Common in:
ONDO"
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10.
http://yorubaname.com/entries/Fa%CC%81sh%E1%BA%B9%CC%80yi%CC%80n
"Fáshẹ̀yìn
Meaning of Fáshẹ̀yìn
Ifá watches (my) back.
Morphology
(i)fá-ṣe-ẹ̀yìn
Gloss
ifá - Ifá divination
ṣe - make, do
ẹ̀yìn - back (when someone isn't around)
Geolocation
Common in:
AKURE"
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