Identity Crisis Part 3 – What is your Christian name?

I dropped my English name about a year ago. I didn’t go as far as having it removed from my birth certificate and other official documents as many before me have done. I still consider it my name. I didn’t have a ‘deep’ reason for dropping my English name like staying true to my roots or celebrating my Africanness. I just preferred my middle names and they happened to be African.

The use of my African names has led to some interesting experiences. Those that aren’t accustomed to pronouncing African names keep asking if I have an ‘easier’ name. I always say no. It’s only ‘hard’ because they haven’t said it enough times. Tchaikovsky wasn’t easy for me the first couple of times either. You’ll get the hang of Mwende Susu(Soso) Ngao.

The mispronunciations are forgivable and understandable, though I find it difficult to understand how Mwende can be the same as Wendy… However, this article is about the question I’m asked that always leaves me, for lack of a better word, flabbergasted. “What is your Christian name?” I never know how to answer that question.

What is a Christian name? One that’s from the Bible like Mary, Martha, John and Peter? To a lot of people, yes. This is especially true in the Catholic Church where after confirmation, you are given a name of one of the Saints. In a non-Christian context, a Christian name is synonymous with first name.

My first name is not in the Bible and neither is it the name of a Saint. So I suppose I do not have a Christian name. Perhaps I should acquire one? Elizabeth Ngao? Ruth Ngao? Naomi Ngao? Naomi, I like and the woman was quite amazing in the Bible story.

My friend went to the United States for a while and came back calling herself GeeGee. Her name is Ngige but since her friends abroad couldn’t pronounce her name, rather than have them say it right, she adopted the new pronunciation. It’s one thing for others to call you something and another thing for you to call yourself the same thing.

I don’t have an issue with Christian names. I think they are great when taken up with the right intentions. However, I find we confuse them with ‘English’ names and look at those that don’t have them as strange. The issue at the end of the day therefore, isn’t the Christian name but the underlying attitudes we carry when it comes to possessing western attributes. It isn’t so long ago that our news anchors had to have English first names. There was even a rumour making rounds that one female anchor had to make up one as her parents ‘sadly’ didn’t give her an English name. We clearly are making progress with some of the present anchors having only African names.

A childhood friend of mine didn’t have an English name and I remember thinking how odd that was. I was one of the many that asked her to get one but she thought we were the strange ones for asking. I think back to those days and I feel ashamed. Why were we so bent on having her have an English name? The weird thing is that I did it with the heart of a good friend. I felt she was missing out on something and it was unfair for her to be punished for her parents’ mistake. Incredibly ridiculous when I think about it now.

At the beginning of this post, I said I dropped my English name because I liked my middle names better. That’s true. However, the use of my African names has led me to develop a sense of pride in my identity as African and especially Kenyan. Our names are beautiful and unique and we should be proud of them!

Do you know the meanings of your African names? I do.

I am beloved daughter,

Grandmother – full of wisdom,

Warrior – carrying a shield.