NAME
Name is a very
sensitive, spirit-filled and historical life “tag” which should be cherished as
it’s so important. What does a name depict in your view? Why do names mean so
much to our ancestors? Why do parents name us after occurrences in the family?
Some are called “Yetunde,
Iyabo” meaning, Mother is back. One thing we should know is that ‘NAME’ is so
sensitive that we should not just give it to children anyhow. Names have crucial
roles to play in human lives. Some parents give names to their children because
they do not want to forget some occurrences in their lives.
As the Yoruba will say,
“Ile ni a n wo ki ato so omo ni oruko” meaning we look into situations around
us before giving names to the child. Take for instance “Ayodeji” this means the
combination of two joyful moments. That is, the joy of the child born and
probably something else that brings joy happened the moment the child was born.
“Ene” in Idoma language
means “Mother”. It is a name given to an Idoma lady. It should be noticed that
most children when they grow to know what these names mean, they tend to change
their names. They do not know the reasons behind the names they bear, and this
brings about discouragement in Bearing such names or carrying it about. For this
reason, you will see a child calling herself names that do not exist even among
the names given to her at birth, Such names like “Suzy, Joys, Jazzy” e.t.c.
A parent has the
responsibility of telling the children the reason for the name and to let them
know why they were given such names. Taylor
says: “if you teach a child what he needs
to know, he tends not to make a mistake from it”. When a child is getting
to the age when he/she can understand things, A parent has the responsibility of
telling the child the reason or reasons behind the name. As this would make the
child happy and proud bearing such name, but in a case where the child doesn’t
know the origin of his/her name, he tends not to know what it means and would
not be able to cope since he/she does not know.
In conclusion, “JABEZ”
in the bible did not start prospering until he begged God to change his name
which meant SORROW.
Keeping history is
good, it is part of our Cultural Heritage, but we should try and learn not to
name children after unfortunate occurrences. Names are strong and should be
chosen with care because the name given to one has a way of affecting one and
telling on its bearer either positively or negatively depending on the meaning
of the name.
By: Ogundipe A. James
