Abstract
The study examines how personal names communicate cultural, ancestral and personal identity of the Bekwarra people of Cross River State, Nigeria. The study focuses on communicative and identity functions of personal names among the Bekwarra people of Cross River State. The study adopted survey research using semi-structured interview, focus group discussion and personal observation as instruments. A total of 34 participants were interviewed, including traditional rulers and community leaders, while the focus group discussion comprised two group of seven participants each, that made up of community and youth leaders. The theoretical framework adopted for the study was the socio-onomastics theory, which explores the relationship among names, culture and society. The study used purposive sampling method as the sampling technique; this was to enable the researcher meet those with experience in naming practices and family heads. Findings reveal that personal names in Bekwarra communicate meanings and identify a person’s place of birth, family lineage, history, expectations, the circumstances surrounding one’s birth, and demonstration of thanksgiving. In order to preserve the Bekwarra tradition and culture through personal names, the study recommends that Bekwarra naming practices that communicate meanings and identify individuals should be maintained among the people for cultural identity and belonging.
Introduction
In the African society, personal names are mostly linked to individual’s family genealogy, culture, language, occupation, and place. They are also linkages between the physical and spiritual beings, and as well serve as a means of passing information to others (Wappa & Wada, 2019). Among the Bekwarra people of northern Cross River State onomastic tradition, personal names are essential to the ways in which people are given an identity, values and social relations in their community of practice. Among the people, names are not given and taken arbitrarily; they follow established patterns, revealing circumstances surrounding the family and birth of the child. Names are labels used to identify and describe people, roads, buildings, play grounds, businesses with trademarks, and other objects and facilities (Wakumelo et al., 2016). They are the identities and labels with which individuals are recognised in the society. Anyanwu (2023) argues that naming is an important ceremony and every society has a unique way of accomplishing the process. The naming practices among the Bekwarra people are part of the wider African onomastic system where names do much more than just labeling individuals to transmitting cultural meanings, identification of individuals, and mediate interpersonal relationships among the people.
In our contemporary society, it is compulsory to register a birth of a child and to get a birth certificate with the bestowed names and this allows the child to become a part of a community as an individual and enjoy all social welfare provisions in the society (Aksholakova, 2014). According to Ifesieh (2018), naming is the culmination of man’s ingenious efforts to substantivise conceptualisations, actions, events and existence in dynamic cognitive models. Hence, this provides recognition and identification for the new-born in the society, where they will be known as members. Personal names historicise events, socialize people, spiritualise events and influence people psychologically (Ifesieh 2018). Therefore, possessing a name is a universal practice and the usual phrases under which it is found in everyday speech are “proper name”, “personal name”, “legal name” or “birth name”. Full name consists of a first name, known in Western cultures as first, personal name or baptismal name; and a name, known as a last name or family name that indicates membership of a family, tribe or clan. Hence, for legal and administrative purposes, the full name offers the right to social identification and recognitions. Names are seen and received as cultural products that can represent the individual in all contexts, including family, social groups and the ethnic segment to which they belong as origin (Dumitrașcu, 2020).
In our contemporary society, it is compulsory to register a birth of a child and to get a birth certificate with the bestowed names and this allows the child to become a part of a community as an individual and enjoy all social welfare provisions in the society (Aksholakova, 2014). According to Ifesieh (2018), naming is the culmination of man’s ingenious efforts to substantivise conceptualisations, actions, events and existence in dynamic cognitive models. Hence, this provides recognition and identification for the new-born in the society, where they will be known as members. Personal names historicise events, socialize people, spiritualise events and influence people psychologically (Ifesieh 2018). Therefore, possessing a name is a universal practice and the usual phrases under which it is found in everyday speech are “proper name”, “personal name”, “legal name” or “birth name”. Full name consists of a first name, known in Western cultures as first, personal name or baptismal name; and a name, known as a last name or family name that indicates membership of a family, tribe or clan. Hence, for legal and administrative purposes, the full name offers the right to social identification and recognitions. Names are seen and received as cultural products that can represent the individual in all contexts, including family, social groups and the ethnic segment to which they belong as origin (Dumitrașcu, 2020).
Content
A name also gives other information about an individual, apart from being a unique label and identification. According to Cheang (2020), many names do tell the gender of their owners. However, Onah and Gudaku (2023) are of the view that naming is a phenomenon that is universal though it is also remarkably particularistic. It is particularistic in the sense that the style and pattern of the naming practice vary across human societies. In Africa, personal names play a significant role in virtually all aspects of human life. Among the African people, it is conceived that the name an individual bears can exert enormous influence on his/her general lifestyle and life prospects. In Bekwarra society, majority of the indigenous names are not gender sensitive. Rather, they are drawn from circumstances surrounding the birth of the child or the family situations. Names across various societies can be culture-specific. For example, names such as Adah-Oshi, Aweremi, Ashikem, Eniemia and Ekangkem are specific to the Bekwarra people.
Due to the influence of Western culture, Christianity and the affinities with other tribes, most parents have preferred to bestow their children those borrowed names instead of Bekwarra personal names which communicate important messages in their local culture. To this end, most parents give these foreign names arbitrarily to their children without knowing the meaning. This study seeks to determine the communicative functions of names and the range of communicative functions performed by them in Bekwarra personal names.
2. Communicative functions of personal names
In our society, personal names have a unique way of giving information about the bearers. Personal names are regarded or used as powerful symbols for communication (Wappa & Wada, 2019). Communication becomes meaningful when the right instrument is used and the right language, either through speaking, writing or para-linguistics, such as, sign language. Other than simply being a label, names do tell a lot more information and bear the mission in portraying a person’s image (Cheang, 2020). In Africa, personal names are communicative devices that tell stories about historic events, familial conflicts, and the struggle with supernatural powers which are central to the notions of personhood and self-definition (Mensah et al., 2020). Importantly in Africa, personal names have been identified as prominent sites to reflect on and interpret emotions, where a name can stand for its bearer and synecdochally epitomises the essence of their being (Mensah et al., 2020). Egbunu (2016) clarifies that naming is a very important tool used among various African cultures to convey certain messages, either to an individual, family members or a community for a particular reason.
Apart from the socio-cultural and spiritual importance of names as aspects of people’s culture and language, as well as the transmission of traditional and cultural heritage and identity, names have a distinctive grammar, reflecting the grammatical structure of the respective languages (Omachonu & Ejeba, 2023). Naming connotes celebration of life at birth and the future (Omachonu & Ejeba, 2023). It is one of the most significant rites of passage through life; it announces the birth of the new-born, introduces the individual to the extended family and the larger community, and confers on the child a name which is to be borne throughout life. Sometimes, the people’s worldview and value systems are expressed in the names that individuals bear or are given within the community (Omachonu & Ejeba, 2023). This is to say that personal names serve as the veritable channels for communication, dissemination of information, transmission of religious, traditional, and cultural heritage of the bearers of these names.
Onah and Gudaku (2023) clarify that naming a person appear to be simple; yet it is a complex process with deep meaning and implication. The functions of names often times communicate the circumstances surrounding the child’s birth, the parent’s perception of the child, their ideology of parenting, the expectation of both the parents and the extended family members on the role the child is to play in the family, the community, as well as the society. The type of names that are given to a new-born child is often determined by the circumstances into which that child was born, namely the situation or condition of the parents, events surrounding the birth, historical and cultural reality of the time of pregnancy or birth of the name-bearer (Mbarachi and Igwenyi, 2018; Balogun and Fasanu, 2019).
Olatunji et al. (2015) observe that a name serves as the socio-cultural expression and elucidation of self-concept. In this regard, naming is a universal culture, and the processes of naming and names common vary across cultures. Names are not only given as a means of identification, but also instill ethical standards and social values in an indirect way on the bearers. Personal names do not only serve a legal purpose, but also convey social, cultural and spiritual meaning for the family and its community. Therefore, names are sometimes given as an expression of a people’s view about the world argues that some names are peculiar to certain families and they help to communicate and identify the place of origin of their bearers. Therefore, persons answering these names can easily be traced to a particular community or the family they belong (Okon, 2017; Godson & Igodo, 2020; Ndiribe, 2025).
...
Due to the influence of Western culture, Christianity and the affinities with other tribes, most parents have preferred to bestow their children those borrowed names instead of Bekwarra personal names which communicate important messages in their local culture. To this end, most parents give these foreign names arbitrarily to their children without knowing the meaning. This study seeks to determine the communicative functions of names and the range of communicative functions performed by them in Bekwarra personal names.
2. Communicative functions of personal names
In our society, personal names have a unique way of giving information about the bearers. Personal names are regarded or used as powerful symbols for communication (Wappa & Wada, 2019). Communication becomes meaningful when the right instrument is used and the right language, either through speaking, writing or para-linguistics, such as, sign language. Other than simply being a label, names do tell a lot more information and bear the mission in portraying a person’s image (Cheang, 2020). In Africa, personal names are communicative devices that tell stories about historic events, familial conflicts, and the struggle with supernatural powers which are central to the notions of personhood and self-definition (Mensah et al., 2020). Importantly in Africa, personal names have been identified as prominent sites to reflect on and interpret emotions, where a name can stand for its bearer and synecdochally epitomises the essence of their being (Mensah et al., 2020). Egbunu (2016) clarifies that naming is a very important tool used among various African cultures to convey certain messages, either to an individual, family members or a community for a particular reason.
Apart from the socio-cultural and spiritual importance of names as aspects of people’s culture and language, as well as the transmission of traditional and cultural heritage and identity, names have a distinctive grammar, reflecting the grammatical structure of the respective languages (Omachonu & Ejeba, 2023). Naming connotes celebration of life at birth and the future (Omachonu & Ejeba, 2023). It is one of the most significant rites of passage through life; it announces the birth of the new-born, introduces the individual to the extended family and the larger community, and confers on the child a name which is to be borne throughout life. Sometimes, the people’s worldview and value systems are expressed in the names that individuals bear or are given within the community (Omachonu & Ejeba, 2023). This is to say that personal names serve as the veritable channels for communication, dissemination of information, transmission of religious, traditional, and cultural heritage of the bearers of these names.
Onah and Gudaku (2023) clarify that naming a person appear to be simple; yet it is a complex process with deep meaning and implication. The functions of names often times communicate the circumstances surrounding the child’s birth, the parent’s perception of the child, their ideology of parenting, the expectation of both the parents and the extended family members on the role the child is to play in the family, the community, as well as the society. The type of names that are given to a new-born child is often determined by the circumstances into which that child was born, namely the situation or condition of the parents, events surrounding the birth, historical and cultural reality of the time of pregnancy or birth of the name-bearer (Mbarachi and Igwenyi, 2018; Balogun and Fasanu, 2019).
Olatunji et al. (2015) observe that a name serves as the socio-cultural expression and elucidation of self-concept. In this regard, naming is a universal culture, and the processes of naming and names common vary across cultures. Names are not only given as a means of identification, but also instill ethical standards and social values in an indirect way on the bearers. Personal names do not only serve a legal purpose, but also convey social, cultural and spiritual meaning for the family and its community. Therefore, names are sometimes given as an expression of a people’s view about the world argues that some names are peculiar to certain families and they help to communicate and identify the place of origin of their bearers. Therefore, persons answering these names can easily be traced to a particular community or the family they belong (Okon, 2017; Godson & Igodo, 2020; Ndiribe, 2025).
...
Conclusion
Personal names in every culture are very significant to the name-bearers, the parents, family members as well as the larger society. These are names given to the bearers by name-givers. Bekwarra personal names are identity markers by which the name-bearers are known and recognised by. Hence, personal names in Bekwarra traditional practice account for why certain names are assigned to certain bearers. Personal names communicate and give information about what the parents of the child are expecting or want to see manifest in their lives namely, happiness, peace of mind and/or as well as a reminder of previous events. It pleases them whenever they hear the name of the child being called. All in all, the study surmises that personal names among the Bekwarra people of Cross River State, Nigeria, communicate and identify the people of their place of origin, and ancestral lineage of the bearers of these names within the society they live. In view of the foregoing, the study recommends that parents should give their children Bekwarra personal names that communicate important information, identify with their culture and belief system for cultural conservation. Also, Bekwarra parents should give their children names that will always reflect their expectations and desires.
References
Abdurazzoqova, S. A. (2026). The role of personal names in social and ethnic contexts: A socio- onomastic approach. American Journal of Philological Sciences, 6(4), 87-90. DOI 10.37547/ajps/Volume06Issue04-20.
Aboh, R., Ajimase, A., & Inyabri, I. T. (2024). They do not eat a wife’s beauty: The ethnopragmatics of Bette proverbial personal names. Languages, 9(302). https://doi.org/10.3390/ languages9090302.
Aboh, R., Mensah, E., Inyabri, I., & Ushuple, L. (2022). Christianity and the gendering of personal names among the Bette in southeastern Nigeria. Journal of Religion in Africa 53 (2022), 1-25. doi:10.1163/15700666-12340246.
Aksholakova, A. (2014). Proper name as a clue symbol of identity. Procedia-Social and Behavioural Sciences, 112(2014), 465-471. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.01.1190.
Anyanwu, E. (2023). An investigation into anthroponyms: A comparative linguistic study of Igbo and English personal names. Nnadiebube Journal of Languages and Literatures (NJLL), 1(1), 58-70.
Balogun, L., & Fasanu, S. (2019). Complexity and politics of naming in Yoruba tradition: A dramatic exploration of once upon an elephant. Genealogy, 3(18), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy3020018.
Cheang, J. (2020). Choice of foreign names as a strategy for identity management. Intercultural Communication Studies, 17(2), 197-202.
Dumitrașcu, F. (2020). The role and the function of the name in defining the personal identity and social identity of the individual convergences in modern research. Revista Universitară de Sociologie, 16(2), 200-211. Retrieved on 4th January, 2026 from www.sociologiecraiova.ro.
Egbunu, F. E. (2016). The socio-cultural import of Igala names. International Journal of African Society Cultures and Traditions 4(3), 38-46.
Fubara-Manuel, J., Ekpang, J. N, & Aboh, R. (2026). ‘I will marry by force’: Female-child naming, and the concept of ‘home names’ among Bette-Obudu Women. Genealogy, 10(28), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy10010028.
Godson, C. E., & Igodo, E. O. (2020). Socio-religious imperatives in a name: Traditional religious perspective of the Igbo of Nigeria, West Africa. African Journal of Culture, History, Religion and Traditions, 2(1), 10-17. Retrieved on 4th January, 2026 from www.abjournals.org.
Ifesieh, E. C. (2018). Personal names as sociopolitical and cultural metaphors: A case study of Ebedei-Umueziogoli. JOLAN Supplement, 3(2018), 68-84.
Igwenyi, E., Tete, E. E. & Aboh R. (2026). ‘My God is greater than the soothsayer’: The conceptualisation of Chim in contemporary Igbo personal names. Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies. https://doi.org/10.2989/16073614.2026.2634059
Laia, Y. E., Umiyati, M., & Muliana, I. N. (2025). Socio-onomastics analysis on Aristocratic names in South Nias. Austronesian: Journal of Language Science & Literature, 4(2), 89-104. Retrieved on 8th July, 2026 from https://www.ojs.wahanapublikasi.com/index.php/austronesian.
Mbarachi, C. S., & Igwenyi, E. (2018). Language, identity and the cultural context of names in selected Nigerian novels. International Journal of Language and Literature, 6(1), 29-37.
Mensah, E. (2025). Eco-cultural identity construction through personal naming practices: a socio- onomastic appraisal. Critical African Studies, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/21681392.2025.2470628.
Mensah, E. O., Inyabri, I. T., & Nyong, B. O. (2020). Names, naming and the code of cultural denial in a contemporary Nigerian society: An Afrocentric perspective. Journal of Black Studies 00(0), 1-29. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021934720980097.
Ndiribe, M. O. (2025). Language, personal names and the Igbo culture: A cosmological appraisal of two Igbo names -- Ọfọ and Chi. Ikenga International Journal of Institute of African Studies, 26(1), 187-208. https://doi.org/10.53836/ijia/2025/26/1/009.
Oduola, L. & Omolara, O. A. (2025). A socio-onomastics study of the characters in five selected movies of Tunde Kelani. Berkeley Journal of Humanities and Social Science (BJHSS), 7(6), 67-84. DOI: https://doi.org/10.70382/bjhss.v7i6.007.
Okon, P. E. (2017). Name as a vehicle of communication: A case of the Efiks of Nigeria's Cross River State. International Journal of English Language and Literature Studies, 6(2), 33-41. DOI: 10.18488/journal.23.2017.62.33.41.
Olatunji, A., Issah, M., Noah, F., Mohammed, A. Y., & Suleiman, A. (2015). Personal name as a reality of everyday life: Naming dynamics in select African societies. The Journal of Pan African Studies, 8(3), 71-90. Retrieved on 17th December, 2025 https://www.semanticscholars.org.
Omachonu, G. S., & Ejeba, S. O. (2023). Towards a linguistic study of Igala personal names. Tropical Journal of Arts and Humanities, 5(1), 1-16. DOI: 10.47524/tjah.v5i1.2.
Onah, N. G., & Gudaku, B. T. (2023). Personhood and the importance of name and naming in Africa: An expository discourse. Aku: An African Journal of Contemporary Research, 4(4), 305- 321.
Perianova, I. (2015). My name is sued. How do you do! (Names and identity). Issues in Social Science, 3(1), 1-14. http://dx.doi.org/10.5296/iss.v3i1.6758.
Svongoro, P., Mogotsi, D., Mapanzure, R., & Muriithi, G. (2026). A socio-onomastic perspective of translated first names used in Zimbabwe, Kenya and Botswana. South African Journal of African Languages, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1080/02572117.2026.2622624.
Udechukwu, G. L., & Nnyigide, N. M. (2016). The religious and socio-cultural implication of African names: Igbo naming system as a paradigm. International Journal of Arts and Humanities, (IJAH), 5(3), 89-103.
Uwen, G. O. & Ekpang, J. N. (2022). A socio onomastic categorisation of Erei personal names. Onoma 57, 267-284. DOI: 10.34158/ONOMA.57/2022/17.
Wakumelo, M., Mwanza, D. S. & Mkandawire, S. B. (2016). The toponymics of postcolonial Zambia: Street naming patterns in Lusaka. In O. Nyambi, T. Mangena & C. Pfukwa The postcolonial condition of names and naming practices in Southern Africa (eds), (270-288). Cambridge Publishing Scholars.
Wappa, J. P., & Wada, R. S. (2019). Kamuǝ female personal names and identity in cultural contexts. Open Journal of Modern Linguistics, 9, 104-114. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojml.2019.92011.
Aboh, R., Ajimase, A., & Inyabri, I. T. (2024). They do not eat a wife’s beauty: The ethnopragmatics of Bette proverbial personal names. Languages, 9(302). https://doi.org/10.3390/ languages9090302.
Aboh, R., Mensah, E., Inyabri, I., & Ushuple, L. (2022). Christianity and the gendering of personal names among the Bette in southeastern Nigeria. Journal of Religion in Africa 53 (2022), 1-25. doi:10.1163/15700666-12340246.
Aksholakova, A. (2014). Proper name as a clue symbol of identity. Procedia-Social and Behavioural Sciences, 112(2014), 465-471. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.01.1190.
Anyanwu, E. (2023). An investigation into anthroponyms: A comparative linguistic study of Igbo and English personal names. Nnadiebube Journal of Languages and Literatures (NJLL), 1(1), 58-70.
Balogun, L., & Fasanu, S. (2019). Complexity and politics of naming in Yoruba tradition: A dramatic exploration of once upon an elephant. Genealogy, 3(18), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy3020018.
Cheang, J. (2020). Choice of foreign names as a strategy for identity management. Intercultural Communication Studies, 17(2), 197-202.
Dumitrașcu, F. (2020). The role and the function of the name in defining the personal identity and social identity of the individual convergences in modern research. Revista Universitară de Sociologie, 16(2), 200-211. Retrieved on 4th January, 2026 from www.sociologiecraiova.ro.
Egbunu, F. E. (2016). The socio-cultural import of Igala names. International Journal of African Society Cultures and Traditions 4(3), 38-46.
Fubara-Manuel, J., Ekpang, J. N, & Aboh, R. (2026). ‘I will marry by force’: Female-child naming, and the concept of ‘home names’ among Bette-Obudu Women. Genealogy, 10(28), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy10010028.
Godson, C. E., & Igodo, E. O. (2020). Socio-religious imperatives in a name: Traditional religious perspective of the Igbo of Nigeria, West Africa. African Journal of Culture, History, Religion and Traditions, 2(1), 10-17. Retrieved on 4th January, 2026 from www.abjournals.org.
Ifesieh, E. C. (2018). Personal names as sociopolitical and cultural metaphors: A case study of Ebedei-Umueziogoli. JOLAN Supplement, 3(2018), 68-84.
Igwenyi, E., Tete, E. E. & Aboh R. (2026). ‘My God is greater than the soothsayer’: The conceptualisation of Chim in contemporary Igbo personal names. Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies. https://doi.org/10.2989/16073614.2026.2634059
Laia, Y. E., Umiyati, M., & Muliana, I. N. (2025). Socio-onomastics analysis on Aristocratic names in South Nias. Austronesian: Journal of Language Science & Literature, 4(2), 89-104. Retrieved on 8th July, 2026 from https://www.ojs.wahanapublikasi.com/index.php/austronesian.
Mbarachi, C. S., & Igwenyi, E. (2018). Language, identity and the cultural context of names in selected Nigerian novels. International Journal of Language and Literature, 6(1), 29-37.
Mensah, E. (2025). Eco-cultural identity construction through personal naming practices: a socio- onomastic appraisal. Critical African Studies, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/21681392.2025.2470628.
Mensah, E. O., Inyabri, I. T., & Nyong, B. O. (2020). Names, naming and the code of cultural denial in a contemporary Nigerian society: An Afrocentric perspective. Journal of Black Studies 00(0), 1-29. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021934720980097.
Ndiribe, M. O. (2025). Language, personal names and the Igbo culture: A cosmological appraisal of two Igbo names -- Ọfọ and Chi. Ikenga International Journal of Institute of African Studies, 26(1), 187-208. https://doi.org/10.53836/ijia/2025/26/1/009.
Oduola, L. & Omolara, O. A. (2025). A socio-onomastics study of the characters in five selected movies of Tunde Kelani. Berkeley Journal of Humanities and Social Science (BJHSS), 7(6), 67-84. DOI: https://doi.org/10.70382/bjhss.v7i6.007.
Okon, P. E. (2017). Name as a vehicle of communication: A case of the Efiks of Nigeria's Cross River State. International Journal of English Language and Literature Studies, 6(2), 33-41. DOI: 10.18488/journal.23.2017.62.33.41.
Olatunji, A., Issah, M., Noah, F., Mohammed, A. Y., & Suleiman, A. (2015). Personal name as a reality of everyday life: Naming dynamics in select African societies. The Journal of Pan African Studies, 8(3), 71-90. Retrieved on 17th December, 2025 https://www.semanticscholars.org.
Omachonu, G. S., & Ejeba, S. O. (2023). Towards a linguistic study of Igala personal names. Tropical Journal of Arts and Humanities, 5(1), 1-16. DOI: 10.47524/tjah.v5i1.2.
Onah, N. G., & Gudaku, B. T. (2023). Personhood and the importance of name and naming in Africa: An expository discourse. Aku: An African Journal of Contemporary Research, 4(4), 305- 321.
Perianova, I. (2015). My name is sued. How do you do! (Names and identity). Issues in Social Science, 3(1), 1-14. http://dx.doi.org/10.5296/iss.v3i1.6758.
Svongoro, P., Mogotsi, D., Mapanzure, R., & Muriithi, G. (2026). A socio-onomastic perspective of translated first names used in Zimbabwe, Kenya and Botswana. South African Journal of African Languages, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1080/02572117.2026.2622624.
Udechukwu, G. L., & Nnyigide, N. M. (2016). The religious and socio-cultural implication of African names: Igbo naming system as a paradigm. International Journal of Arts and Humanities, (IJAH), 5(3), 89-103.
Uwen, G. O. & Ekpang, J. N. (2022). A socio onomastic categorisation of Erei personal names. Onoma 57, 267-284. DOI: 10.34158/ONOMA.57/2022/17.
Wakumelo, M., Mwanza, D. S. & Mkandawire, S. B. (2016). The toponymics of postcolonial Zambia: Street naming patterns in Lusaka. In O. Nyambi, T. Mangena & C. Pfukwa The postcolonial condition of names and naming practices in Southern Africa (eds), (270-288). Cambridge Publishing Scholars.
Wappa, J. P., & Wada, R. S. (2019). Kamuǝ female personal names and identity in cultural contexts. Open Journal of Modern Linguistics, 9, 104-114. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojml.2019.92011.