Why Some African Americans Have An Arabic First Name Or A First Name From A Traditional African Language

 Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post features one article excerpt and one 2011 pancocojams post about the custom of  African Americans having an Arabic first name or a first name from a traditional African language.

Selected comments about African Americans having African or Arabic first names are also included in this post.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.

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ARTICLE EXCERPT
From https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/whats-in-name/201503/our-evolving-black-american-naming-traditions "What's In A Name": Our Evolving Black American Naming Traditions"

Given names can provide important social and spiritual insights.

Posted March 1, 2015; Reviewed by Ekua Hagan
..."Very rarely, plantation slave lists reveal a name that appears to be an African name (e.g. Ayuba Suleiman Diallo, Cudjo Lewis). A surviving African name suggests that the slave was able to communicate with his owners and gain enough respect to maintain his ethnic name. Such was the case for Ayuba Suleiman Diallo, an educated Muslim, who could read and write Arabic, and eventually published one of the earliest U.S. slave narratives. Scholarly estimates are that most Africans brought to America were animist, 10 to 30 percent may have been Muslim, and 3 to 5 percent Christian. Biblical slave names may be those of Muslim or Christian slaves.

Slaves secretly called one another by their African names in slave quarters. African families were repeatedly split, living in a foreign culture with a foreign language, among diverse African ethnic groups, and their owners suppressed African customs and religions. Maintaining African traditions over generations would be impossible. With emancipation, liberated slaves abandoned diminutive names like Betty or Tom for the full given name (e.g. Elizabeth, Thomas). For surnames, they had a wide range of choices — the surname of their former owners, that of prominent leaders, their occupation, a city or town, etc.

[…]

The Civil Rights movement of the '60s and '70s strengthened the sense of Black pride and identity.*

American Blacks began to discover more about their origins. The horrors of slavery and racism were exposed as never before. In 1976, Alex Haley published the Pulitzer Prize-winning book Roots, The Saga of an American Family. Roots was made into a TV miniseries that won nine Emmy awards. The series spurred an interest in the Black community to give children African names (e.g. Ama) or African-sounding names.

The trend to create African-sounding names led to making up totally unique names, which is an ongoing trend. Searching for unique names is also a current phenomenon among Caucasian parents. In addition to names with African resonance, Muslim names are also found in the Black community (e.g., Jamal, Aisha)."...
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*As a friendly correction, I would say that "The Black Power movement of the mid 60s to the 1980s and the wave of African nations becoming independent from European colonization,  strengthened African Americans' sense of Black pride and resulted in many African Americans increased identification with Africa.

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REPRINT OF THE  2011 PANCOCOJAMS POST: How I Got My African Name
From http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2011/09/how-i-got-my-african-name.html
Written by Azizi Powell

Note: I wrote this post on January 22, 2005 as part of this thread on the Folk & Blues discussion forum Mudcat.org: How did you choose your mudcat name? This post is presented without any corrections, additions, or updating.

"In the late 1960s I was a member of a organization that focused on African culture. Like other members of that group, I wanted an African personal name. My male friend at that time, Zayd, said he would give me an African name. And because I just loved loved loved him, I said I would accept the name that he selected. So out of the kindness of his soon to be cheatin heart, Zayd gave me a choice of two names-either "Aziza": Arabic for "one who is rare & precious" or "Azizi": Kiswahili with the same meaning.

Back in those days {and now} a lot of female names given to African Americans from the Arabic language and other language sources {as well as names which are creatively 'made up'} end with the 'ah" sound, names like "Keisha", "Maisha", "Malika", "Fatimah", "Kadisha", "Aaliyah". I liked the idea of "Azizi" because it sounded more unique.

But in those days {and still today} there was also a brand of makeup called "Aziza". The REAL reason why I choose 'Azizi' instead of 'Aziza' is that I didn't want to give somebody the opportunity to look at me and say "Aziza, you forgot your make-up, girl."

So I've been 'Azizi' now for 37 years-and I try to live up to that name with or without wearing makeup."
-Azizi Powell

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UPDATE 7/2/2012
Here's a response that I wrote to blogger's comment about a Nigerian man living in Poland who changed his name. (This comment is reposted with minor typographical corrections.)

From comments to http://afroeurope.blogspot.com/2012/07/in-2008-europes-minorities-saw-obamas.html

"It occurs to me that one of the reason that Chikama Onyekwere adopted the names "John" and "Godson" could be because of those English names' etymological meanings.

The meaning of the name "John" is "God is gracious" and/or "gift from God". The meaning of "Godson" is obvious.

Also, Chikama Onyekwere may have selected those English names because their etymological meanings might be similar to the meanings of his Nigerian names.

I haven't been able to find the etymological meaning for "Onyekwere" but I wonder if the element "Onye" might have something to do with the Supreme God. That element "Onye" is similar to the name of the Ghanaian/Ivory Coast Akan Supreme Deity Onyame ('Nyame). But this information may not be relevant since (if) "Onyekwere is an Igbo name or a Yoruba name, or some other Nigerian ethnic group name.

I had better luck searching online for the name "Chikama". http://www.onlinenigeria.com/nigeriannames/?page=47 gives this information & meaning for the name Chikaima: "Unisex; ibo; it is God we know"
and this meaning for the name Chikanma:
"Unisex; Igbo; God is the best".

Of course, this is just a guess, and doesn't address the implied question "Why isn't Chikama Onyekwere using his biological names or at least using those African names for his public persona?

In the USA, some African Americans -like me- changed our names (or, in most cases, at least our first name) to better reflect and celebrate our recognition of our African ancestry/heritage. But I think the opposite action ism't necessarily opposite.

In my opinion, if a continental African man or woman gives himself or herself non-African name/s, in addition to his or her African birth names or as a replacement for his or her African birth name/s, that doesn't necessarily mean that he or she doesn't still honor his heritage. [Of course, if an African American or other Black people from the African Diaspora doesn't change his or her name, that doesn't mean that he or she doesn't honor or celebrate his or her African ancestry/heritage. But giving those names to oneself or one's children can symbolize that recognition.]

Perhaps the reason why Chikama Onyekwere adopted English names for himself is that those names are easier for many Polish people to pronounce. I think it's interesting that he didn't choose Polish names (such as Ivan, Jan, Janusz, Janek, the Polish forms of the name John (which is an English form of a Latin form of a Hebrew male name). But I suspect that there are probably a number of people in Poland with English names, and I'm sure that English names -particularly "John" - are more widely used throughout the world than Polish names, so if a person decides to change his or her name, that factor might have also been part of the consideration."
-Azizi Powell, 7/2/2012
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As a point of reference, John Godson/Chikama Onyekwere was mentioned in the above linked Afro-Europe blog post because he recently became Poland's first Black member of Parliament."
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Here's one comment that I wrote on Sept. 1, 2011 in the discussion thread for that pancocojams post. That discussion thread has also has my comment written in exchange to a visitor's comment, and his comment in response to mine.

 
"In the late 1960s and the 1970s, afro-centric African Americans referred to our biological personal names & biological and married surnames (last names) as "slave names" if those names were of European or Hebrew origin. And we referred to the Arabic or traditional African language names that we choose or were given as "free names". Usually people just chose or were given an African/Arabic first name, and kept their biological or married last name. That's what I did.

Most of the people I know don't know my "real" first name (I'm not tellin' lol). The name "Azizi" is very real to me, but I've never legally changed it. I introduce myself using that name, and friends have sometimes shortened it to "Z". I'm retired now, but when I worked I asked people to call me "Azizi", saying that that is my "nickname". I just found that it was easier to do that then to get into this explanation (for White people). Sometimes I'm asked if I am Muslim, and I respond that I'm not nor have I ever been (not that there's anything wrong with being Muslim).

My former husband & I named our children African frst and middle names. One son's first name is Yoruba, the other son's first name is a shortened form of a Yoruba name, and my daughter's first name is a blend of part of my name and part of my then husband's "free name". I consider her name to be African too, although it's not traditional African. I'm basing that on the position that African Americans are an African people]

I'm curious about the experiences of other African Americans who changed their names during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. (or after those dates, but it seems to me that after the 1980s a number of African Americans were routinely naming their children Arabic/African names at birth rather than those children changing their names when they got older.

I think that more African Americans have traditional Arabic names (and African American variants of those names) in part because we know more Arabic names than names from traditional African languages besides Swahili. The other reason why Arabic/Swahili names are more often found among African Americans is that those names are relatively easy for us to pronounce as they generally conform to our (American) English pronunciation & gender "rules"."

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SELECTED COMMENTS ON THIS TOPIC FROM THE DISCUSSION THREAD OF A YOUTUBE MUSIC VIDEO
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bovm6-15Ooo ; Reekado Banks - Ozumba Mbadiwe (Official Video); published by Reekado Banks, Nov 12, 2021

Selected comments from a sub-thread of that discussion thread. Numbers are added for referencing purposes only. A comment that I wrote is the last one in that discussion sub-thread as of the publication date for this pancocojams post.

1. Chigozie Gerald, 2021
"Black American gather here,Nigeria making African proud 🇺🇸"
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This comment has 554 likes and 40 replies as of Feb. 16, 2022 at 3:59 PM.

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2. AFRICA'S BEST, 2021
"New York City in da place 🇺🇸"

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3. Thom Frank, 2021
"How’s your name chigozie?"

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4. Ifeoluwa, 2021
"@Thom Frank   same  thing I ask myself oo"

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5. Thom Frank, 2021
"@Ifeoluwa  dem just Dey lie behind keyboard anyhow 🤣🤣"

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6. Pubg starccr7, 2021
"@Thom Frank  loll noo my name is oluwatimileyin and I'm african american specifically Nigerian American so just cuz u have am african name doesn't mean ur not african american please get ur facts right have a great day doe bro."

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7. SylviasWorld, 2022
"@Pubg starccr7  Yeah, you are not actually African American if you are Nigerian American. The term African American refers to people who are descendants of former slaves in America and that is how their ancestors got to America. That's not your story."

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8. NaturalMystic88, 2022
"@Thom Frank  African Americans are giving their kids African names. I plan to do the same."

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9. Aisha Griffith, 2022
"California 🇺🇸💕🙌"

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10. Emmoh, 2022
"Don’t y’all get tired of diaspora wars…black Americans are largely descendants of Nigerians anyways..I’m tired. Give it a rest. Let us enjoy the music"

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11. Ad, 2022
"@Thom Frank  why be mean? Many Americans call their names African names"

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12. Iy M, 2022
"But he didn't say African American he said Black American. Two different things."

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13. SylviasWorld, 2022
"@Ad  Yes because of their African heritage. A Nigerian American for example, does not have African American heritage so its not the same."

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14. AfricanProudVillageWomanJuju, 2022
"@Chigozie Gerald  you’re confused"

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15. EfemzyEkun, 2022
"@NaturalMystic88  wow! I love that move...lemme give iu a great Yoruba name to give your child. If he is a male, give him Olufemi (God loves me).

If it's a female, give her Oluwakemi (Godtakes care of me). Havea great day.♥️🇳🇬"

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16. Monica Dantata, 2022
"African American living in London!!"

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17. Uju Duruaku, 2022
" @Thom Frank  maybe he means his nationality is American nvm I don’t want to stress my brain lol😂😂.

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18. Uju Duruaku, 2022
"@Ifeoluwa  nah he’s American by nationalization and Nigerian through like ethnicity"

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19. Kenny Munyua, 2022
"He ddn't say let's gather..  He ddn't identify or say his Nationality why is it that people are saying he is lying???? Is English that hard?? 🤷🏽‍♂:

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20. Gruuxeth, 2022
"@Thom Frank  Its kinda weird if you think about it. You have an "English" name and that is totally normal to you because i guess...english is the default of the world? Maybe the OP is a black American that was given a Nigerian name just liek you were given an english name?"

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21. igbo guy 🕊️ ☮, 2022
"️Igbo man in NYC.. never forget 20th October, 2020 ✊🏿"
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This is the date of the Lekki Gate Massacre in Nigeria.  "Ozumba Mbadiwe", the title of the song/video for this discussion thread refers to that massacre.
From https://daily4mative.com/ozumba-mbadiwe-meaning/ 
"Ozumba Mbadiwe is a song by popular singer Reekado Banks released for a commemoration of lost lives during lekki massacre by Nigerian government under Mohamed Buhari regime.

Originally Ozumba Mbadiwe is the name of the street where END SARS protest started. It was the place leading to lekki toll gate where Buhari commanded Nigerian army to shoot at peaceful protesters. Nigerian army killed hundreds of Nigerian youths who were protesting against police brutality."...

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23. Willow Adol, 2022
"@Thom Frank  Nigerian Americans are also black Americans."

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24. Willow Adol, 2022
"@SylviasWorld  There is no category in US official forms for Nigerian American slot. They are grouped as African Americans."

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25. Azizi Powell, 2022
"First off, thanks Reekado Banks for this song and RIP all those who lost their lives at Lekki Toll Gate.

I'm an African American from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1967 during when a number of Black Americans were changing their first names to Arabic or traditional African first names, I  was given my KiSwahili first name. My now deceased husband who was African American also had an African name which he was told was based on a Congolese name. In honor of our African ancestry, in the late 1970s, my husband and I gave one of our sons the Yoruba names Fela Ayinde, and another son was given the name Aki (which is a short form of a number of Yoruba names.) We don't know if we have any Nigerian ancestry, East African ancestry, or Central African ancestry, but we know that we have some Black African ancestry.

On another note, I don't agree with Sylviasworld's comment in this discussion thread that "The term African American refers to people who are descendants of former slaves in America". My mother's parents were from the Caribbean and my father was of mixed Black/White ancestry and was adopted from New York. I don't know if his birth parents were enslaved in the USA, or enslaved in the Caribbean or enslaved elsewhere. Besides, not all Black peopl in the USA were enslaved, and I believe that Black people who came to the USA after slavery ended here can correctly consider themselves African Americans if they choose to. I also believe that "Nigerian American" can be a subset of African American. This is my position People can disagree if they choose to."

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