Naming Practice
From time immemorial, the naming of children has been one of the most important and most valued things by various communities which were even celebrated harmoniously. In the current world, this virtue still earns some good respect. Children are believed to be given names by their parents, but the father has the full mandate of changing the child’s name. The naming of children is also known to diverge from one community to another but in most of them; names get used in families over and over. Since most of the cultures do believe in the honouring of their elders, and they do so as their children after them.
A variety of factors influences the naming practice. One of these factors is the positive or negative circumstance that the families do find itself during the time the child is born. Some of these names are unisex. In the traditional and current Algerian community, such names include “Ayodele” which means that joy had come to a home, “Yetunde” which means that a mother has come back; these applies where a girl is named after a grandmother or a female relative who died before the child was born. These names were mostly for the memory and remembrance of the circumstances that those families were in.
Parents also name their children reflecting on the mood and circumstance the family is through during the birth. Most of these names do serve as rebukes or warnings. This culture is mostly endorsed in Zimbabwe. Some of these names include “Nhamo” which means misfortune, “Maidei” which asks the question “what do you want?” and “Yananiso” with the meaning of bringing families together. A good example is a name of a Malawi citizen named Misery, who explained that he was born during a period where his parents were in Misery. He later discovered that his name was too negative ad, therefore changed it.
In most of the African cultures, one does not need to be explained to whether in a particular family, one is the youngest or the eldest of their siblings because their names can reveal that much. This kind of naming is more preserved for twins. For example, a Ugandan man named Wasswa or Kakuru is most likely to be the eldest in a twin while the youngest male twin is named as Kato. Similarly, a Kenyan community named as Kalenjins name their firstborns as Yator while the last born is called Towett.
Names are established to be so important and essential since they do tell a story of whom we are and what we shall become. Therefore, parents should be so much careful when naming their children since names have a massive impact on children as they grow and mostly in their inequality world. Names with negative connotations are most probably inspiring a child to as well develop a negative attitude about life which may lead to an unpleasant outcome in life. Positive names will simply encourage a child to create a positive attitude towards life; therefore having a good result in life.