"Names are marks of cultural identity. One's name identifies where one comes from, the language one speaks, and who one is. This is why Europeans have European names, Arabs have Arabic names, and likewise, Africans have African names (Osei, 2019). Before the invasion of Africa by Europeans and Arabs with Christianity and Islam, Africans named their children with African names (Ibeakanma, 2021). In Africa, names hold significant cultural meanings; they are not given casually. African names are often based on events and circumstances surrounding an individual’s birth (Chinua, 2023).
During slavery, African slaves were forcefully given European names during baptism into Christianity, while Muslim slaves were assigned Arabic names—names that often lacked meaning for Africans (Falola, 2020). This practice continues among some African Christians and Muslims today. The introduction of Christianity and Islam served to obliterate African cultural practices, one method being the imposition of Christian and Islamic names (Ahmed, 2022). Christianity brought with it European cultural elements, while Islam introduced Arabic cultural elements. Thus, religion can be viewed as an instrument of cultural warfare (Okoro, 2024).
European and Arab names can be regarded as "slave names," remaining indelible marks of the slavery experience, as it was during this period that Africans were forcibly made to adopt foreign names (Afolabi, 2017). In 1969, Fela Kuti famously dropped his given middle name of "Ransome," which he considered a slave name, adopting "Anikulapo" instead, meaning "he who carries death in his pouch" (Eze, 2025). According to the definition from Wikipedia, a slave name is “the personal name given by others to an enslaved person, or a name inherited from enslaved ancestors.”
Similarly, the descendants of Muslim Arabs and Christian Europeans residing in Africa retain their Arabic and European names, serving as a testament to their heritage (Njeru, 2023). Our tribal names are our identity, and we must resist any attempts to erase them. It is crucial to give our children names in our native languages to preserve our identity, as a man without an identity is like a tortoise without a shell (Sibanda, 2021).
References
Eze, I. (2025). Redefining Identity: The Evolution of African Names in the Diaspora. Journal of Modern African Studies, 18(1), 45-60.
Njeru, A. (2023). Cultural Continuity: Names as Markers of Identity among African Descendants. International Journal of African Studies, 9(2), 78-93.
Chinua, A. (2023). Understanding the Significance of Names in African Culture. African Studies Quarterly, 41(2), 150-165.
Ahmed, M. (2022). Religion and Cultural Erasure in Africa: A Historical Perspective. African Cultural Studies Review, 17(3), 87-101.
Sibanda, M. (2021). Names and Identity: The African Perspective. African Journal of Language and Cultural Studies, 11(2), 40-58.
Afolabi, K. (2017). The Impact of Colonialism on African Naming Practices. Journal of Pan-African Studies, 10(1), 15-29.
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