Child of an outcast: cultural context of naming among the Nsirimo (Igbo) people in Nigeria

Abstract

Among the Igbo people in South-eastern Nigeria, personal names are bestowed based on requirements of customs and traditions as a mark of identity to individuate its bearers and confer unique personhood on them. Naming is a source of cultural expression that communicates values, worldview and emotions in the Igbo cultural semantics. This article examines the social functions of personal names among the Nsirimo people in Umuahia South, Abia State, South-eastern Nigeria. The analysis is anchored on the socio-onomastics theory by Ainiala and Östman (2017) which examines names based on the socio-cultural conditions of their usage. Drawing on qualitative research design using semi-structured interviews and participant observation with 30 participants who were purposively sampled, the study reveals that personal names among the Nsirimo people are linguistic symbols which are used to communicate religious belief, gender bias, and emotions among other cultural scripts. The study concludes that names and naming are essential drivers of social communication that define the name-giver’s future aspirations and beliefs, and guide well-being and life trajectory of the name-bearer.

Keywords

• Cultural semantics
• personal names
• Nsirimo (Igbo)
• socio-onomastics
• identity
• symbolic communication