name changing

[CaribIZ]

I have been pondering for some time now about changing my name from the adopted slavemaster's imposement to another of  cultural meaning.

Just wanted to hear some other views.

Until then  kwa heri

[Ras_Nevoe]

never a bad idea. No sense of walking around with a name that belongs to the same slavemaster who stripped you of your own identity. My son was born 7 months ago and I made it my business to give him a name with some sort of African roots and cultural meaning. His name is "Khair", it's pronounced "KA-YIR" and it means brave and destined.


While I was looking in this book with Afrikan names I noticed that most "Afrikan" names had an arabic origin and I know that this is due to the influence of Islam on the continent, but i'm still not sure if i'm OK with that. How do you feel about that?



Ras Nevoe

PEACE!

[chiefblackbear]

HOTEP

Changing names is a good thing it brings you back to your origins. If you can recall where your ancestors came from you should change your name using their language to tie your destiny back to them.

[c0cc0]

I don't think it's a big deal. Names aren't important. A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet. When I say your name, I'm talking about you, not someone else who had the name earlier. But, that's just me. Whatever culture you come from doesn't define who you are as an individual. If you really want to go through with it, go for it.

[Ras_Nevoe]

I don't think it's a big deal. Names aren't important. A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet. When I say your name, I'm talking about you, not someone else who had the name earlier. But, that's just me. Whatever culture you come from doesn't define who you are as an individual. If you really want to go through with it, go for it.

I see what you're saying, but I still think people of Afrikan descent should try to rekindle their heritage as much as possible. The name thing is not that big a deal, however it is a walk down the right path. If I could I would teach my kids how to speak Swahili.

[Happiness]

This is my first reply in quite some time - years!  Yes, we are identified by our names in this earthly realm but does that truly define who we are?  When we are born to this earth our parents name us but I believe when we pass to Zion once more the Almighty, our true Father, will call us by the name He has given us. 

My daughter was born 16 months ago.  I put much thought into naming my daughter.  Her name is Desta Sophia.  Desta meaning Happiness in Ethiopian and Sophia meaning Wisom in Greek.  With life lessons, my guidance and Jah love I know that she is on the path to righteousness and virtuosity.  Beginning life with Happiness and Wisdom is truly a blessing. 

But you see, not all people are conscious or enlightened.  My earthly name is Angela but my Idren call me Desta.  Why did my parents call me Angela?  Because they liked the name.  Why do my Idren call me Desta?  Because it befits who I am as I grow - Happy! 

So, should you change your name you ask?  Well, I believe you should change your name if you feel the name you were given is not befitting of you. 

Nuff respect Ras Nevoe.  I too live in NYC.  I have come across other posts from the I and you speak knowledge and truth.  Stay on the path. 

[siger]

I don't think it's a big deal. Names aren't important. A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet.

I differ. I believe names are important. If you had called Shakespeare a rose on those london streets, he would have punched you in the face. A name is not just a word. It is what we put forward to represent our identity.
So Malcom Little became El-Hadj Malik el-Shabbaz became Malcom X. One man, identified as three.

A name change does not change a man; but it does alter what he is portayed as.

Whatever culture you come from doesn't define who you are as an individual.

Again, i have a different view. More than anything, it is our culture that describes us. That brooklyn swagger, those english manners (or lack of...), culture purveys the individual.

A name change, in my view, is a good idea. I smile everytime i meet an Tisha, or even a Zoe. An African name in these parts is a breath of fresh air; and even the locals notice.

AN intersting read..... Eja's My names.

http://www.africaspeaks.com/reasoning/index.php?topic=3214.0

[out_of_Zion]

I see the reason for doing this.

I have contemplated changing my name due to stigmas attached following Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder.

I'm currently dwelling in my own version of hell, and I feel like the entire world hates me.

Can anyone relate to this?

[wezekana]

INI, firstly, wish to call to attention the fact that INI never adopted any slavemaster! INI was stolen from our homes and lands and it was then that these savage conditions were cruelly inflicted upon we. Secondly, Afrikans, dispersed and settled wherever they may be, since times immemorial, have had a habit (or tradition), of bestowing personal pronouns, nick-names or 'basket-names' upon children, junior family members, loved ones and close friends. This practice has been recognized elsewhere in human social organizations as an institution of indoctrination into certain societies as well as a type of protection against outsiders in cases of unwanted inquiring.

This Afrikan cultural trait, was quite conscientiously detailed by Melville J. Herskovits' in his book "The Myth of the Negro Past", published in 1958, by Beacon Press.

Herskovits states, "Names are of great importance in West Africa. Names are given at stated periods in an individual's life, and, as among all folk where magic is important, the identification of a "real" name with the personality of its bearer is held to be so complete that this "real" name, usually the one given him at birth by a particular relative, must be kept secret lest it come into the hands of someone who might use it in working evil magic against him. That is why, among Africans, a person's name may in so many instances change with time, a new designation being assumed on the occasion of some striking occurrence in his life, or when he goes through one of the rites marking a new stage in his development."

Later, in the same chapter, he writes...

"How sturdily African traditions concerning names and naming have resisted European encroachment can be made clearer if the preceding passages, and the data to be adduced in paragraphs to follow, are compared with materials describing analogous rituals and beliefs found in the Gold Coast or Dahomey. The elaborate ceremonies that mark the birth of a child and the events of his life, the  numerous categories of names that are given the infant, especially in Dahomey, to reflect specific circumstances held to mark his conception, or indicating the manner of his birth or certain physical characteristics manifested at that time, and the like, all demonstrate how meticulously these folks follow regulations concerning these matters that have been laid down in accordance with their beliefs."

And later...

"Another element of the naming complex is the ease with which a Negro may assume one name after another, especially in dealing with whites. The truth of the matter is that a name given to a Negro by an outsider is something of the order of a nickname, worn even more lightly than are the nicknames of whites... "


In closing, INI would like to say that a name is simply what is said about you or what you are called, or, in any case, a word used to describe you, although, in truth, INI could never be described by any one human word. Choose as many or as few as you'd like.

Overstand that life is a cooperative, albeit personal, experience, so, why would one... how could one, especially one of Afrikan descent, ever feel content using the Anglish language exclusively in his attempts to intimately describe himself?

To a one entertaining the thought of a 'legalized' name change I would say, "Why? Is not you own society sufficient enough that you could easily forgo seeking verification in another's? What is it that has made you desire to have your personal-Afrikan-self affirmed through an openly vampiristic, deceitful, privilege consumed, whyte society that uses standards such as the postings on sent or received parcel merely to categorize, calculate and keep tabs on men like chattel? Stop giving babylon the tools it needs to ensnare you. There is a war going on, yunno. Sensitive information, like where you or your children rest their heads by night, is a serious issue, Rasta. Slapping babylon in the face by confronting them with and making them accept your Afrikan-ness via the title that they call you is redundant. They know who you are. They know what you are. Change what you want to change, but not for the sake of whytes, whyte eyes or ears. Do it for the edification of your own mind and for the minds of those that will follow after you. Rest assured, Rasta, some will continue to call you a you-know-what behind closed doors. To them your true name is nothing but a by-word."

In another chapter of the same book written by Herskovits a 'Bush Negro' is charged with saying...

"White man, long ago our ancestors taught us that a man must not tell anyone more than half of what he knows about anything. I have told you half of what I know."

Peace and blessings in the name of Jah, Rastafari.

[Brendan]

I think that is a great idea plain and simple.