“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but your words will never hurt me.” Remember that? As adults we’ve grown to know that words do hurt, but what about the significance of words regarding a name? LaQweneeka, DeRijion, Malik, JaShawn, Shalonda, Mercedes, Prada…I think you all know what I’m getting at. I know we can get creative and try to be cute with naming our children, but do we really know what we are essentially calling them in the contextual meaning behind the name? In the movie Roots, a man named Kunta Kinte had been taken as a slave from Africa to America. The master had given him a new name of Toby. Kunta resisted his new name and for each time he did not accept it, he was whipped. Although this was a movie, it depicted real-life situations of new slaves to take on European names. Why would he put his life on the line for a name? Shakespeare posed the question, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet?” I beg to differ. According to Dr. Askhari Hodari, Ph.D and author of The African Book of Names, “European colonial powers forced Africans to use foreign names…[like]…Emily, George, Rebecca, Richard, or Steven—names that have no African importance and names that do not speak to an African past or future.” Dr. Hodari goes on to say, “Intentionally or not it is common for Blacks to use or create names with patterns that recall African languages and sounds…Blacks have a tendency toward names that include the following sounds or letter combination : de, la, ra, sha, ta.” The names we have and those we chose to bestow unto our children are permanent for life and even carry weight beyond the grave. How so? Did we ever consider the reason for the behavior, both good and bad in some our children, may be linked to their name? The creativity of our naming is found within the blood of African heritage. We cannot forsake the importance and responsibility of such honor. When you name your bundle of joy, embrace the heritage and restore the honor of the occasion. Remember, it is the significance within the name the child will soon become. ~Robin Smith
