Kwame
Gender | Male |
---|---|
Origin | |
Word/name | Ashanti people |
Meaning | born on a Saturday |
Region of origin | ![]() Empire of Ashanti |
Other names | |
Related names |
Kwame is an Akan masculine given name among the Akan people (i.e. Ashanti, Akuapem, Akyem, Fante) in Ghana that means "born on a Saturday" in Akan language, following their day naming system.[1][2] People born on particular days are supposed to exhibit the characteristics or attributes and philosophy, associated with the days.[1][2] Kwame also has the appellation "Atoapoma" or "Oteanankannuro" meaning "combat ready" .[1][2] The day naming tradition in Ghana extends to folk characters such as Anansi and deities. Traditional Akan religion states that God created himself on Saturday and is therefore also named "Kwame" and later created earth "Yaa" on Thursday. [3]
Origin and meaning of Kwame
In the Akan culture, day names are derived from deities.[4] Kwame originated from Koyame and the Akan day name God.[1][5] The name Kwame means extremes in fortune, health and spirituality; versatile, idealistic and intuitive.[6] Males named Kwame are reputed to be talented and good problem solvers.[4]
Male vaiants for Kwame
Variant spellings include Kwamé, Kouamé, Kwami, Kwamena, and Kwamina, according to the various Akan subgroups.[7][2] It is spelt Kwame by the Akuapem and Ashanti subgroups, while the Fante subgroup spell it as Kwamena or Kwamina.[1][7]
Female version of Kwame
In the Akan culture and other local cultures in Ghana, day names come in pairs for males and females.[1] The variant of the name used for a female child born on Saturday is Ama.[1][2]
Notable people with the name
The most well-known bearer of the name was Kwame Nkrumah, President of Ghana and a founder of Pan-Africanism - mainly due to whom the name spread also to non-Ghanaians.
People with this name include:
- Kwame (Australian rapper)
- Kwame Alexander, American author
- Kwame Anthony Appiah, a Ghanaian-British philosopher of semantics and racism
- Kwame Awuah (born 1995), Canadian soccer player
- Kwame Brown, American former basketball player
- Kwame R. Brown (born 1970), American politician
- Kwame Dawes, Ghanaian poet currently living in America, managing editor of the Prairie Schooner literary journal
- Kwame Harris (born 1982), former American football player
- Kwamé Holland, an American rapper who enjoyed brief popularity during the golden age of hip hop, reemerged as a music producer named K1 Million
- Kwame Holman, American producer, correspondent, and congressional correspondent
- Kwame Kenyatta, an American politician
- Kwame Kilpatrick, former mayor of Detroit, Michigan
- Kwame Nkrumah (originally Francis Nwia Kofi Ngonloma), a Ghanaian politician (and for a time Life President) and one of the founders of Pan-Africanism
- Kwame Raoul, a Democratic member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 13th district since 2004
- Kwame Somburu (Paul Boutelle), an American socialist political activist
- Kwame Tucker, a Bermudian cricketer
- Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael), a Trinidadian-American black activist and leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and the Black Panther Party
- Kwamena Bartels, a Ghanaian politician and former government minister of the New Patriotic Party
- Kwamena Ahwoi, a Ghanaian politician who served as Minister for Local Government and Rural Development from 1990 to 2001 and Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1997
- Kwamina Ropapa Mensah, a Ghanaian footballer who plays for Nashville SC in the USL Championship
- Osei Kwame Panyin, eighteenth-century leader of the Ashanti Confederacy, in what is southern and central Ghana today
- Rich Kwame Amevor, Australian rapper
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "(PDF) The Sociolinguistic of Akan Personal Names". ResearchGate. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Kamunya, Mercy (19 October 2018). "Akan names and their meanings". Yen.com.gh - Ghana news. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
- ^ Arko-Achemfuor, Akwesi (18 October 2018). "Naming of children and meaning of names among the Akan of Ghana : defining identities". Southern African Journal for Folklore Studies. 28 (1): 7. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
- ^ a b Last Name, First Name (2020). "Title". doi:10.21303/978-617-7319-30-5.
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(help) - ^ "The Akan Day Names and Their Embedded Ancient Symbolism". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
- ^ "Kwame. What Does My Name Mean? Find Out!". Seven Reflections. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
- ^ a b "'Day born names' in Dagbani, Ewe and Fante". GhanaWeb. 9 November 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
Fictional character
- Kwame (Captain Planet), a fictional character in the animated television series Captain Planet and the Planeteers
- Kwame, a fictional character in British television series I May Destroy You.