Abstract
Personal names in Akan and Yorùbá societies of West Africa serve as profound markers of cultural identity, destiny, and spiritual belief. However, modernisation, globalisation, and the spread of Abrahamic religions have increasingly influenced naming practices, leading to a preference for foreign names over indigenous ones. This study aims to examine the cultural, linguistic, and philosophical significance of naming traditions among the Akan and Yorùbá peoples, with a particular focus on how names reflect gender, birth circumstances, social status, and metaphysical beliefs. This research employs a qualitative methodology, drawing on data from educational registers, oral interviews, questionnaires, and scholarly literature. The analysis reveals a growing trend toward English, Christian, and Islamic names, often driven by urbanisation, media exposure, and religious conversion. This shift has resulted in the anglicisation and mispronunciation of indigenous names, contributing to social stigma and identity concealment, especially in educational and urban contexts. The findings underscore the urgent need for linguistic advocacy, cultural education, and community-based strategies to preserve and revitalise indigenous naming systems. By framing names as cultural artefacts, the study highlights their role in sustaining African heritage and contributes to broader discourses on identity, postcolonial resistance, and cultural continuity.
Keywords: Abrahamic Religions, Anthroponymy, Akan names, cultural identity, modernisation, Yorùbá names
DOI: www.doi.org/10.36349/sojolics.2025.v01i02.023
author/Ănuolúwapọ̀ Adéwùnmí ADÉTỌ̀MÍWÁ
journal/Sokoto JOLICS 1(2) | November 2025 |
