What Does Your Name Mean?

I love my name. It was given to me by parents and it is what my friends and family call me. But what does it mean?

Anytime I introduce myself to someone new in Nigeria they want to know what my name means. I always explain that it has no meaning it was just the name my parents liked.  To the people of Nigeria that is just ridiculous. Everyone’s name has a meaning. Nigerian children can be given many names.  Everyone gets a name in their native language and a baptismal name, which is in English and often very European.  They can also be given names by certain family members.  The names given to the children in their native language always have meaning.  Below I’ve listed just a few examples of Igbo names and their meaning.

Tochukwu (Praise God)

Chukwuebuka (God is Great)

Chijindu (God holds the life)

Ezinne (Good Mother)

Ijeoma (Safe Journey)

Chukwudumebi (God lives with me)

Ngozi (Blessing)

I really like how the names have meaning. Some people do go by their English names, but the majority use their native language names. It has made learning student names almost impossible.  I’ve learned 10 student names in 9 weeks and they are all in English. Needless to say I have a lot of work to do! I was also given an Igbo name by the church women not long after arriving. They gave me the name Chioma. It means good God.