Comments About Some West African First Names & Some West African Contemporary Naming Practices (From Two 2020 Lipstick Alley Discussions Thread)

 Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post presents selected comments (posts) from two Lipstick Alley African Forum's discussion threads about names.

Both of those discussion threads focus on last names but include a few comments about first names.

The Addendum to this post provides examples of one professional athlete of Nigerian descent who has a Hebrew personal name, one who has a Hebrew last name, and two who have Arabic name as a personal name or an African variant of an Arabic name as a personal name. 

The content of this post is presented for onamastic, cultural, and educational purposes. 

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who participated in this discussion.
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Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2021/06/mande-last-name-meaning-and-history.html for a pancocojams post entitled ""Mandé Last Name, Meaning and History" (Comments About Certain West African Last Names From A 2020 Lipstick Alley Discussion Thread)".

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EXCERPT OF THE LIPSTICK ALLEY DISCUSSION THREAD ENTITLED "THE MOST COMMON LAST NAME IN EVERY AFRICAN COUNTRY" 

https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/the-most-common-last-name-in-every-african-country.3928937/page-3   "The Most Common Last Name in Every African Country".

the waterworks, Sept. 19, 2020
#68
"Most Hausa names double as last names because of the historical system of taking your father's first name as a last name.

So in Northern Nigeria you'll see people with Ibrahim, Mohammed, Abubakar, Abdullahi, Usman as last names and they trace it back to a great-great grandfather's first name. Arabs do this too except they'd say "bin or ibn (son of) Mohammed" for example."

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AwonOshi, Sept. 19, 2020
#69
"PoeticPisces said: [Pancococjams Editor: This comment is regarding the name "Ibrahim which the map featured in the first comment of this discussion indicated was the most common last name in Nigeria]
I get that as a first name but not a last name. I don't know anyone with that as their last name

Yes true, my family members with that name all have it as first or middle names. I believe Hausas mainly have it as last names. I know a Hausa IG influencer (Aisha Ibrahim) who has the last name.

This site says Ibrahim is the 63rd most common surname in the world with it being most prevalent in Nigeria. Ibrahim Surname Origin, Meaning & Last Name History

Kinda of crazy since Nigeria is not a predominantly Muslim country like say Senegal or Somalia. Just goes to show how huge our population is.

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AwonOshi, Sept. 19, 2020
#70
thewaterworks said:
Most Hausa names double as last names because of the historical system of taking your father's first name as a last name."

I was going to say this, they also do this in yorubaland regardless of religion.
-snip-
[Pancocojams Editor: That portion of the comment was written in bold font to emphasize it.]

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thewaterworks,Sept. 19, 2020

#71
AwonOshi said:
"Yes true, my family members with that name all have it as first or middle names. I believe Hausas mainly have it as last names. I know a Hausa IG influencer (Aisha Ibrahim) who has the last name.

This site says Ibrahim is the 63rd most common surname in the worldxactly! It's also pretty popular in Sudan, where the billionaire Mo Ibrahim comes from...

Exactly! It's also pretty popular in Sudan, where the billionaire Mo Ibrahim comes from."

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https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/the-most-common-last-name-in-every-african-country.3928937/page-4

Larue1, Sept, 19, 2020
#97
"Just as an aside for those interested in Ethiopian names. We don't have "family names" the way you do in the West. I have a name, the second name I use is my father's name and the final name I use is my grandfather's name. This lets you know who I am.

For example using Western names: Alice John William. I am Alice. My father is John and my grandfather is William, When you speak to me you call me Mrs. Alice, not Mrs. William. William is my GRANDFATHER, and his name is not my own. His name and my father's name are present so you know from whom I descend: John, son of William.

If I were a boy my name may be David John William and when I have my own son his name would be Peter David John. He would be addressed as Mr. Peter and you would know he is the son of David who is the son of John. Williams name falls into the ages.

Because I am a woman I always belong to my father and my name does not change after marriage. In a Habesha household the mother will have her own "last name" (grandfather's name) a father will have his own "last name" (grandfather's name) and the children will all share the name of their father's father, their grandfather, as a "last name".

Also Tesfaye means "hope".
-snip-
Pancocojams Editor: "Tesfaye" was given in the "African name map" attached to the first comment in this discussion thread as "the most common last name in Ethiopia".

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https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/the-most-common-last-name-in-every-african-country.3928937/page-5

Xoriyo, Sept. 19, 2020
#133
"Larue1 said:

Just as an aside for those interested in Ethiopian names. We don't have "family names" the way you do in the West. I have a name, the second name I use is my father's name and the final name I use is my grandfather's name. This lets you know who I am."...

We have the exact same naming system in Somalia.

The grandfather's name is normally the cut off point for official use. However, as children, we are expected to memorise the names of our great grandfathers dating back generations.

This ties in with the clan system as eventually, you will find common ancestors with other Somalis if you go back far enough.

We also keep our 'last names' when we get married as we are still part of our father's family.

I think this is a great way of keeping track of your lineage and family history"

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EXCERPT OF THE LIPSTICK ALLEY DISCUSSION THREAD ENTITLED  “AFRICAN LAST NAME" SPIN OFF- MANDE LAST NAME, MEANING AND HISTORY

https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/%E2%80%9Cafrican-last-name%E2%80%9D-spin-off-mand%C3%A9-last-name-meaning-and-history.3945451/page-5

Farashalady, Dec 5, 2020
#146
"Random.. but I noticed a lot of first names in west Africa end in ata.

 ex.) Miatta, Katta, Aminatta etc. anybody know where the ata comes from, it’s meaning?"

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bebelala, Dec 5, 2020

#147
"I know Aminata is from Amina. Names like Aissata, Aichatou, Fatoumata are really africanized Arabic names."

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bebelala, Dec 5, 2020
#149
"Farashalady said:
So it comes from Islamic influence? I was wondering if the ata part was African or Islamic. I know Amina, Fatima etc are Islamic. But what about the ata part?

Honestly I don't know. I am assuming that's how africans at the time pronounce Arabic names. Even Mahamadou/Mamadou is supposed to be Mohamed, Soumaila is Ismaeil, Youssoufou is Yusef, Daouda is Dawhud

Also, Bintou comes from Bint, Oumou is from Umm

In Mali, in Bambara culture, before converting to Islam, names were often given based on the order or day you are born. For example, the first son will be named N'Tji, second son, Zan, third son, N'golo."

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Lady2023, Dec 6, 2020
#150
"SnakeWithHands said:
In Mali, in Bambara culture, before converting to Islam, names were often given based on the order or day you are born. For example, the first son will be named N'Tji, second son, Zan, third son, N'golo.

Now I know where N’golo Kante’s name comes from. I like it when Africans stick to our cultural names instead of Arabic and European names."

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https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/%E2%80%9Cafrican-last-name%E2%80%9D-spin-off-mand%C3%A9-last-name-meaning-and-history.3945451/page-6

Farashalady “Dec 6, 2020
#154
"SnakeWithHands said:
Our parent's generation and above them were given those Arabic ish names to show their muslim identity but the name giving tradition changed. We are now giving names after elders (parents, grandfathers, older siblings, etc) so it's almost like those names are even more widespread than before.

Some traditional names are still around tho. Names like Djeneba, Korotoumou, Coumba, Djelika, Sadio, Modibo, Gaoussou, Touramanka, Toumani are quite common.

Interesting. Modibo, Kumba, and jeneba are common in Sierra Leone as wellll"

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Lady2023, Dec 6, 2020
#155
"Yes, the Arabic names get recycled but as you said the cultural names are still quite common. However, Djeneba is the African version of Zainab an Arabic name. Anyway, you have Sadio Mane who is Mandinka from Senegal, Toumani Diabate and his son Sidiki Diabate from Mali, and Modibo Keita, the first president of Mali. That’s just to name a few public figures with Mande names."

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Bebelala, Dec 6, 2020
#156
"Really, I thought Zeneibou = Zainab

Djene= spirits, the supernatural

Ba = big, great or mother"

In Mali, Sadio is mainly female name. There is a griot called Sadio Kouyate."

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Lady2023, Dec 6, 2020
#157
"Oh ok. I might have gotten it mixed up with Gambia where “Jainaba” is from Zainab. I thought “Djeneba” was the French spelling. Never mind lol..

Btw, Sadio is unisex in Gambia but we spell in “Sarjo”."

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Bebelala, Dec 6, 2020
#158
"Yes Djeneba is the French spelling. It could really well be an arabic ish name.

 There are some confusion when it comes to the origins of some names. For example, Fatou is very widespread. Some say it's from Fatima, but there are historians that claims that the name has even around even before the Islamization."

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cubum, Dec 6, 2020
#159
"What’s really interesting is how the same thing also is occurring with a lot of african chrisians in west africa. My mom and my dad both had biblical names but they gave me and my siblings igbo names and I saw that to be common in our church as well with children given names in remembrance of elders."

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bebelala Dec 6, 2020
#160
"Are your parents and elders so eager to have a child name after them ? In Mali, it's almost obligatory now to give your kids the names of your parents. Elders want to have a "togoman" (someone with the same name or and named after them) so bad."

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cubum, Dec 6, 2020
#161
"It’s very rare in igbo culture today to find people with the exact names of their parents.

Igbo folks tend to be highly individualized in the naming of each kid, and using that name to explain the circumstances behind the birth of that kid whether the mom or family having trouble or good fortune during the pregnancy, birth, or after birth, an elder rumoured to have been reincarnated in the baby and other circumstances I can’t think of atm lol.

So those circumstances usually don’t allow a kid to take the same name as their mom or dad."

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wanderluste, Dec 7, 2020
#162
"In Sierra Leone, Zainab/Zainabu= Jeneba/Jenebu."

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ADDENDUM
From https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/adesanya-anthony-joshua-and-umar-are-all-nigerians-now-you-know-while-we-are-called.3955630/

AwonOshi, Sep 28, 2020

Anthony Joshua

Israel Adesanya

Kamarudeen Usman

Hakeem Dawodu

[emoji: heart; emoji: muscle]

Naija no dey carry last!
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This lipstickalley.com discussion thread is about Nigerians who have non-Nigerian names.
 
"Naija no dey carry last"= a popular contemporary Nigerian saying that means "Nigerians don't come in last [place] i.e. Nigerians are known to excel in whatever they do.

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Reply
Chibuikem, Sep 30, 2020

"LaraDoesNot said:
For the record my full name is Middle Eastern. Africans need to do better. I’ve never met a non-African with an African name. Think about that. Where’s our pride when we don’t even want to bear our own names anymore. We are out here representing others and we wonder why the world still looks down on the continent as a whole.

I think I lost some brain cells reading this nonsense. Every Nigerian has at least like 5+ different names. Who cares if the government name is middle eastern?

-snip-
Here's information about these four professional athletes of Nigerian descent:

"Israel Mobolaji Temitayo Odunayo Oluwafemi Owolabi Adesanya[1] (born 22 July 1989) is a Nigerian-born New Zealand professional mixed martial artist, and former kickboxer and boxer....As of June 14, 2021, he is #3 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings.[11]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Adesanya

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"Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua, OBE (born 15 October 1989) is a British professional boxer. He is a two-time unified world heavyweight champion, having held the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO titles since December 2019, and previously between 2016 and June 2019. At regional level, he held the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles from 2015 to 2016.”...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Joshua

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"Kamarudeen "Kamaru" Usman (born May 11, 1987) is a Nigerian-American professional mixed martial artist, former freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler. He currently competes in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the reigning UFC Welterweight Champion. Usman was also The Ultimate Fighter 21 tournament winner. As of March 23, 2021 he is #2 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings.[7]" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamaru_Usman
-snip-
"Qamar ud-Din, or Kamaruddin etc. is a Muslim male or female name or (in modern usage) surname. In Arabic, Qamar ud-Din (قمر الدين) means "Moon of the Religion", and also refers to an apricot-based beverage" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qamar_ud-Din

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"Hakeem Dawodu (born July 2, 1991) is a Canadian mixed martial artist, currently signed to Ultimate Fighting Championship and fights in the Featherweight division. He previously competed for the World Series of Fighting….

Early life

Dawodu was born in Calgary to a mother from Nigeria and a father from Jamaica. When he was six years old, his father was deported, forcing his mother to raise him on her own.”…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakeem_Dawodu

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