African names
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| Sat, 03-10-2007 - 11:52am |
I am entering a writing contest and I writing a short story set in present day Africa. I know there are some people on this site who know a TON about names, and I was hoping someone might be able to help me properly name my characters! All I need, is two girl names and 1 boy name (although the boy name isn't really important, very minor character).
I have tried looking at websites, but I don't really trust them and I am getting mixed messages. I found the name Sade, and thought I liked that- very strong sounding, but then found one website which said it was pronounce "sade" (1 syllable, like beginning of Sadie), and another that said it was "shah-DAY" or "shar-DAY". I would feel kinda stupid if I didn't even know how to properly pronounce my character's name, and to be honest, the "shah-DAY" or "shar-DAY" pronunciations don't really appeal to me.
So, does any know any African names (and the pronunciation and meaning as well)?? The meaning is important for one of the girl characters because I want to touch on that slightly in the story.
Sorry if this is a bit confusing, but hopefully someone can help!
Thanks,
-Nikki

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I only know two girls names. I have a friend in Ghana, where one of the customs is to name children after the day of the week they were born. He suggested these for my two children, based on Monday & Tuesday births:
Adowa (uh-DOH-wa)
Abena (uh-BEE-nuh)
His name is Desmond and his brother is Geth (so I guess I know 4 total).
~Emily
baby #2 coming 4/3
Thanks! That is an interesting custom, definitely something to think about.
If anyone else knows anything about African names, it would be helpful. The story is set in South Africa, if that makes a difference.
Have you checked out the African names section on BTN, Nikki? I clicked a few just to see, and it doesn't appear that many have pronunciations listed, but you could find some with great meanings and then do a basic search for those particular names to get more info.
Here's the link:
http://www.behindthename.com/nmc/afr.php
HTH
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Well I found the name Imani meaning "faith" on the website... I think that is nice. According to another website, it apparantly is Arabic, but behindthenames says it translates to faith in Swahili. Sounds good to me though.
Thanks for the suggestions!
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What country in Africa and what subculture in that culture are you setting it in? This would affect your choice of names.
-Jamie
Sade is pronouced "Shar-day" or "Shaw-day" just like the singer. :)
KT
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