Onomastics: Naming in Yoruba (1)

Names are not mere identification tags. They are meaning containers. Naming among the Yoruba people could be a basis for learning the structure of the Yoruba names, because this names are structured like phrases and sentences having extant meaning. In other words, the study of the Yoruba names could be the study of the grammar of the language.

Personal and place names is one of the oldest elements of the Yoruba Language and a good knowledge of them will enhance our knowledge of their history and past experiences.

 The Yoruba names can the nominal or sentential and the names has been classified into three: Given Names( Oruko Amutorunwa), Ascribed Names (Oruko Abiso), and Pet Names (Oriki). Also, some names are formed  from Yoruba proverbs.

Given Names(Oruko Amutorunwa) are nominal in form, so are some place names. Examples:
Ojo----------A male child that has his umbilical cord tied around his neck at birth.
Ajayi--------A child born with face turned downwards
Talabi-------A child born with the head and body covered with Caul like a masquerade
Oni---------A baby whose incessant cry at birth suggest that he/she is in distress
Ige --------A baby thta came out of the womb with feet first
Aina------Is the female of Ojo(of the two names, Ijebu tribe uses Aina,it is proverbial that (Ijebu Kii je Ojo),"Ijebus never bear the name Ojo."
Dada-----Children with knotted hair or dreads
Ilori------Conceived after a previous birth,before resumption of mensturation
Oke-----A child rapped in a thin membrane at birth, The Amniofil sac
Taiwo----The first to arrive of a twin
Kehinde---The last to arrive of a twin
Eta Oko---Triplet
Idowu-----A child born after a set of twins
Alaba------A child born after Idowu
Olugbodi----A child born with a the sixth finger
Erinle--------A child born with an umbilical cord around his wrist

All the Amutorunwa names are connected to an unusual event at birth, they are instant names. This whispers the significance of the midwifery lore of the Yoruba. Unlike the Abiso names, one waits till the naming ceremony on the eighth day to hear the names the parents woukd like to call their child based on the events at birth, family tradition, and interest.

Other classes of names aside the Amutorunwa are sentential in form, they can be divided into their sentential elements. Examples;
Oyeesoro= Oye+soro---Contest for chieftaincy title could be difficult.
Odetunde=Ode+ tun+de---The god of hunter has come home
Bantale= Ba+mi+ t'ale--------Stay with me till my dying age
Akin-ola-------Hero of affluence
Oluremilekun=Olu+re+mi+ni+ekun-----The Lord has comforted me

We can now say that the form of the Yoruba names can be grouped into two:Mono-morphemic and Poly-morphemic. The poly-morphemic can be further divided into complex and compound. The complex division can be either be sentential or phrasal.

A journey into the study of names is very important and an eye-opener to the aspect of culture often over-looked.