Loud Whispers

Names are words or set of words by which a person or thing is known, addressed, or referred to.

Most often, human names are given to babies at birth or at the point of adoption. Human names vary from culture to culture and most parents give names according to the situation that surrounds the birth of a child.

In several cultures, a day is set aside for the naming ceremony of the child or children as the case may be.

What does your child’s name say about you?

Ask a few questions while thinking of a name;

• Have you heard the name before? If not, no one else will have.
• Can you pronounce it without having to look it up? If you need to look it up, I can tell you firsthand that you will be the only person your child ever meets who has taken the time to do so.
• Avoid hyphens unless both names are easily pronounceable. Dobson – that’s fine. Mouawad – more than enough effort on its own. Dobson-Mouawad – no comment;  Sitipekeuwem – that’s simple. Mmintette – it more or less convey meanings on its own. Sitipekeuwem-Mmintette – Give your child his/her own personal attendance register.
• Can a child of primary school age say it? If they look confused and say, “What?”, take that as a strong no.

Remember that your child’s name is for their happiness alone and not to prove to the world how cool and creative or how depressed you are.

As a parent, you should have it at the back of you mind that subsequently, you child will grow and his/her name may have a lot of impact on the child. Some of such are;

• Low self esteem
• eroding “victim’s” sense of self
• compromise of beliefs and values
• reduction of sense of well-being
• noticeable changes in personality and behavior of those impacted
• negative impact on a person’s identity
• opening the door to violence
• encouraging internal criticism
• causing mood swing
• affects mental health
• affects physical health

Globally, most parents presently wish they had chosen a name that was easier to spell; some are fed up with people being unable to pronounce the child’s name; and some think the name served the moment.

Below are some African names;