Article Excerpts About Arabic Names In Nigeria & In Other West African Nations

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part I of a two part pancocojams series that presents some excerpts found on the internet about how standard Arabic names are sometimes changed or incorrectly used in Nigeria and other West African nations.

Part I presents an excerpt about Arabic names from Wikipedia as well as an excerpt about Arabic names in Nigeria and Senegal from the Sahel Blog (with selected comments).

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/07/partial-lists-of-arabic-names-from.html for Part II of this series. Part II presents excerpts from two online sources about Arabic names in Nigeria, and in several other West African nations.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/07/some-changes-in-arabic-given-names-in.html for Part III of this series. Part III presents excerpts from a December 2017 nairaland.com discussion about Arabic names in Nigeria, West Africa.

The content of this post is presented for socio-cultural and onomastic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
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This post is part of an ongoing pancocojams series on Arabic names and an ongoing series on African names.
Click the "Arabic names" tag and the "African names" tag to find other posts on these subjects.

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EXCERPT #1:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_Nigeria
Nigeria has the largest Muslim population in West Africa. The CIA estimates 50%[1] while the BBC estimates slightly over 50% (2007).[2] Muslims in Nigeria are predominantly Sunni of the Maliki school of thought. However, there is a significant Shia minority, primarily in Kaduna, Kano, Katsina and Sokoto states; (see Shia in Nigeria). A smaller minority follow the Ahmadiyya, a reformatory sect originating in 19th-century India. In particular Pew Forum on religious diversity identifies 12 percent as Shia Muslims.[3]

History
Islam was introduced to Nigeria through two geographical routes: North Africa and the Senegalese Basin. The origins of Islam in the country is linked with the development of Islam in the wider West Africa. Islam was first documented in Central Sudan by medieval Islamic historians and geographers such as Al-Bakri, Yaqut al-Hamawi and Al-Maqrizi and later works of Ibn Battuta and Ibn Khaldun offered more notes about Islam in West Africa.[4]

Islam grew in North-Est Nigeria, in particular the Kanem empire as a result of trade between Kanem and Northern African regions of Fezzan, Egypt and Cyrenaica in the eleventh century.[4] Muslim merchants from the North sometimes remained in settlements along trade routes, this merchant class would later preach the message of Islam to their host communities. The first documented conversion of a traditional ruler was in the eleventh century, when Mai Ume Jilmi of Kanem was converted by a Muslim scholar whose descendants later held an hereditary title of Chief Imam of Kanem.[4]

Writings by Ahmad Fartua an Imam during the period of Idris Alooma provided glimpse of an active Islamic community in Bornu[4] while religious archives showed Islam had been adopted as the religion of the majority of the leading figures in the Borno Empire during the reign of Mai (king) Idris Alooma (1571–1603), although a large part of that country still adhered to traditional religions.[5] Alooma furthered the cause of Islam in the country by introducing Islamic courts, establishing mosques, and setting up a hostel in Makkah, the Islamic pilgrimage destination, for Kanuris.[6]

In Hausaland, particularly Kano, Islam is noted to have penetrated the territory in the fourteenth century from West African traders who were converted by Tukulor Muslims from the Senegalese basin and Muslim traders from Mali Empire. Muhammed Rumfa (1463 - 1499) was the first ruler to convert to Islam in Hausaland. It had spread to the major cities of the northern part of the country by the 16th century, later moving into the countryside and towards the Middle Belt uplands. However, there are some claims for an earlier arrival...

Islam in Southern Nigeria
Islam also came to the southwestern Yoruba-speaking areas during the time of the Mali Empire….Islam in Ancient Yoruba is referred to as Esin Imale (religion of the malians) as the earliest introduction of the religion to that region was through Malian itinerant traders (Wangara Traders) around the 14th century. Large-scale conversion to Islam happened in the 17th century...

Yorubas came in contact with Islam around the 14th century during the reign of Mansa Kankan Musa of the Mali Empire. According to Al-Aluri, the first Mosque was built in Ọyọ-Ile in AD 1550 although, there were no Yoruba Muslims, the Mosque only served the spiritual needs of foreign Muslims living in Ọyọ.[citation needed] Progressively, Islam came to Yoruba land, and Muslims started building Mosques: Iwo town led, its first Mosque built in 1655 followed by Iṣẹyin, in 1760; Lagos, 1774; Ṣaki, 1790; and Oṣogbo, 1889.[citation needed] In time, Islam spread to other towns like Oyo (the first Oyo convert was Solagberu), Ibadan, Abẹokuta, Ijẹbu-Ode, Ikirun, and Ẹdẹ before the 18th-century Sokoto jihad.[citation needed] Several factors contributed to the rise of Islam in Yoruba land by mid 19th century. Before the decline of Ọyọ, several towns around it had large Muslim communities, unfortunately, when Ọyọ was destroyed, these Muslims (Yoruba and immigrants) relocated to newly formed towns and villages and became Islam protagonists.[citation needed] Second, there was a mass movement of people at this time into Yoruba land, many of these immigrants were Muslims who introduced Islam to their host.[citation needed]

[...]

Islam in Nigerian society
...Sheikh Adelabu has mentioned other aspects of culture influenced by Islam in Nigeria. He cited Arabic words used in Nigerian languages, especially Yoruba and Hausa names of the days such as Atalata (Ar. Ath-Thulatha الثلاثاء) for Tuesday, Alaruba (Ar. Al-Arbi'a الأربعاء) for Wednesday, Alamisi (Ar. Al-Khamis الخميس) for Thursday, and Jimoh (Ar. Al-Jum'ah الجمعة) for Friday..... Maintaining that the wide adoption of Islamic faith and traditions has succeeded to lay impacts both on written and spoken Nigerian vernaculars, Sheikh Adelabu asserted nearly all technical terms and cultural usages of Hausa and Fulani were derived from Islamic heritages, citing a long list of Hausa words adopted from Arabic.

[...]

Influence on culture
Historically, Islam fostered trade relations between North Africa and West Africa. Arabic traders from Tiaret during the Rustamid dynasty were involved in commerce with Audoghast. This trade routes went further south into the Kanuri and Hausa states of Northern Nigeria. Sharia was also introduced into Northern Nigeria has Islam spread across the region. In addition to law and trade, Islam had some influence in spreading the choice of dressing, language and choice of names.[29]

Agbada dressing in West Africa is commonly associated with Muslims and Mallams, Iborun (neck covers) is worn by many Muslims in Southern Nigeria during prayers and crochet hats were once mostly worn by Muslims to had performed the pilgrimage. Some Hausa and Yoruba expressions and words are also influenced by Arabic, the language of the Koran. Assalam Alaykun is a familiar expression for greeting by Muslims and Allahu Akbar is used as a call to prayer. Names such as Mohammed, Ibrahim, Yunusa, Lamidi, Aliu and Suleiman are commonly given to Muslim children.[29]"...

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EXCERPT #2
From https://sahelblog.wordpress.com/2013/03/12/muslim-first-names-in-west-africa/
Sahel Blog: Covering Politics and Religion in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa, Posted on March 12, 2013 by Alex Thurston
..."What I say below draws heavily on my experiences in Nigeria and Senegal and I hope you will assume neither that these remarks apply everywhere in West Africa, nor that my observations apply only to West Africa (if that makes sense). I talk here almost entirely about people’s first or given names, rather than family names.

The first thing to know is that Muslims often name their children for prominent religious figures. Let’s take a few male names. Muhammad (rendered in many different ways), Ahmad (which derives from the same h-m-d root in Arabic), and Mustafa (Arabic, “the chosen one”) refer, of course, to the Prophet Muhammad. Male children are also often named for other prophets, such as Adam, Ibrahim (Abraham), Yusuf (Joseph), Musa (Moses), Harun (Aaron), Dawud (David), Sulayman (Solomon), and Isa (Jesus). The names of the four men considered Rightly Guided Caliphs by Sunnis are also popular choices – Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali. Companions of the Prophet Muhammad, such as Hamza, also have many namesakes. A fourth category for names includes those that refer to God by combining the word ‘abd (Arabic for servant) with one of God’s names – ‘Abd Allah, ‘Abd al Rahman, ‘Abd al Razik, etc. Muslim men are also named for the Prophet Muhammad’s family members – his grandsons Hasan and Husayn.

Muslim women are often named for members of the Prophet Muhammad’s family, such as his wives Khadija, A’isha, and Zaynab, or his daughter Fatima. Muslim women’s names also sometimes come from feminine nouns in Arabic, such as Rahma (“mercy”).

Second, in West Africa, two distinctive phonetic changes may occur to these names. One is that Muslims may pronounce Arabic case endings that are sometimes left silent – for Muhammad, we find Mahamadou; for Zaynab, Zaynabou; for ‘Ali, Aliyu. Additionally, Muslims for whom Arabic is not their first language may alter certain sounds, particularly the “th” as in the English “think.” So for example we find Usman or Ousman or Ousmane for ‘Uthman; or, putting these two phonetic changes together, Usmanu. In Francophone contexts, further spelling changes may occur: Abdoulaye for ‘Abd Allah, Ramatoulaye for Rahma Allah, etc.

Third, a name may stand in for another name. For example, if more than two sons in a northern Nigerian Muslim household are named Muhammad, the first may be called Auwalu (from the Arabic “awwal,” which means first), the second Sani (from the Arabic “al thani”), etc. Muslims who share a name with a famous historical Muslim personage, or with an older relative, may be nicknamed in honor of that person. In northern Nigeria, a Muslim named Usman may be called Shehu (from the Arabic shaykh) in honor of Shaykh Uthman dan Fodio (1754-1817), the reformer and conqueror. In Senegal, a boy named Malik/Malick may be called “Al Hajj” (even though he has not yet completed the pilgrimage himself) in honor of the Sufi leader Al Hajj Malik Sy.

[...] [A brief paragraph about surnames is included here.]

I hope these observations are helpful. It is difficult to generalize, of course. My main goal is to get outsiders thinking about the symbolic associations different names carry, and especially the ways that the early Muslim community and the prophets are constantly invoked in Muslim daily life through people’s names."
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Here are some comments from that Sahel Blog post (with numbers added for referencing purposes only).
1. smbah on March 12, 2013 at 12:52 pm said:
Quite interesting Alex especially the pronunciation bit. Sharif becomes Sheriff for example. I may be wrong, but I think that Nigerian (probably northern Nigerian) Muslim names tend to be the most Arabic. Sierra Leone, Guinea, Senegambia and yes Burkina, Cote D’Ivoire and Mali…now you’re talking. This is were you find Alusine, Momodou, Aminatta and Fatoumatta
I am suddenly very nostalgic. I am hungry for some West African food, and girls 🙂"

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2. Chike Chukudebelu on March 13, 2013 at 4:49 am said:
"I live in Lagos, among Yoruba Muslims, Yoruba Muslims tend to use their Yoruba names, not their Muslim names.

In many cases, it is difficult to know who is Muslim or Christian, because the names are similar."

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REPLY
3. xgbolakcah on March 13, 2013 at 5:45 am said:
"Yoruba Muslims do yo use their Muslim names either as a First or Second Name.

This is every evident when you hear the names of indigenous Yoruba speaking musicians(Fuji or Akpala) e.g. Saheed(Sa’id) Osupa, Sikiru(Dhkirullah) Ayinde Barrister, Wasiu(Abdul Wasiu) Alabi aka Pasuma, Abass Akande aka Obesere and Yusuf Olatunji etc There is rarely a fuji musician except with a Muslim name."

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REPLY
4. Chike Chukudebelu on March 13, 2013 at 7:30 am said:
"I didn’t say they don’t have Muslim names, I just said that many of them aren’t addressed by Muslim names – e.g people like Babatunde (Babs) Fafunwa, Fola Adeola (GT Bank) etc."

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5. Mohammed on April 9, 2013 at 5:52 pm said:
"Very interesting, this a topic I’ve also spent some time thinking about it.

As a Somali, I’ve noticed we have a decent amount of Muslim names with phonetic changes. An example that has always interested me is that of “Abdullahi”. From my experience I’ve noticed that outside of the Horn of Africa, the only other people to use that pronunciation of “Abdullah” are Nigerians. It’s an interesting similarity that I’ve yet to account for."

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This concludes Part I of this three part pancocojams series.

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