Jayne Whyte's Portfolio

I have been thinking seriously what people think about names and why some parents give their children some “funny” names. It is really funny when you hear some English names like ‘Courage” (reminds me of courage the cowardly dog  on cartoon network),” Independence” (must the person always remind others that 1st of October is independence day?), “Godspeed”, “Melody” (giving a child this name doesn’t mean he/she will be the next Nigerian Idol…. lol), “Constant” (?????), “Testimony” (give your testimony to your church brethren and leave the child out of it….smh).

 Get ready to hear some Yoruba names that has kept me laughing. Have you heard the name “Tanimo” meaning “who knows it?”, “Aja” meaning “Dog”( can a human being give birth to a dog?) and “Makunmo” meaning “don’t die again”( ahhhhhh, reminding the child all the days of his life about death? that is cruel oh). and the Ibos, hmmmm their own funny pass,”Chibusubsidim” meaning “God is my Subsidy” lol, Onyebuchi meaning ” who is God?” (Is someone asking God a question?), the Ibos (Catholics) will just look at their “holy saints and angels catechism book” and pick names which i think are hilarious-“Romanus”, “Perpetual”, “Mathias”, ” Festus”, and the Pastors will look into the Bible, glance through the genealogy of Judas Iscariot and gbam! pick a name (because it is from the bible) like “Abishaq” meaning “father of error”, “Amah” meaning” Maid servant”, “Jabesh” meaning “Dry”, “Ebed” meaning “servant” and others like “Miracle”, “Rejoice”, “Jubilee” and so on -the list is endless.

And for the Niger Deltans (dem no they carry last), they are known for “extra-judicial” names like “worldwide”, “Countryman”, “Governor”, “Senator”, “Legislature” even “President”. I have two relatives who bear the name “Obama” because they were born the day he was elected president of the United States of America. How funny! and also a couple who named their son Osama Bin Laden because he was born the day the towers were bombed. Hmmmm, how crazy!, Anyway, i wish the child the best.

I was taught at school, that a name identifies a specific unique and identifiable individual. A persons name enhances his security, self image and gives him a feeling of importance. But most times i think that parents do not consider the child’s happiness before giving the child a name, they think about themselves and situations surrounding the birth or that the name sounds great without knowing the actual meaning of the name.

I guess i now have the answer to the big question-Why are people changing their names?