African Folklore: An Encyclopedia - Marshalls University

The last-born boy or girl has a pet name, Mutuwa, meaning “the one who closed the
path.” Kuloba is the name given to a baby boy who follows the death of another child.
Liloba is the earth, and since the earth has swallowed the other child, the next newborn is,
therefore, given the name Kuloba. Wepukhulu is the name given to a baby boy if he is the
only one in the family. Nabisinyo is the name given to bastards of either sex. Other
names describe beauty. Matiinyi, meaning “well proportioned,” is the name given to a
beautiful girl. Naluhende, meaning “slender,” is an-other name given to an attractive girl.
The Gĩkũyũ of Central Kenya
The Gĩkũyũ have a formulaic way of naming their children, one based on their extended
family relations. The name given to a child depends on sex and birth position. The
formula (shown below) is fixed, and therefore a child’s name is known before he or she is
even born. If the ninth child is a boy, he will be named after the father’s second brother.
If the father had only one brother, then the boy will be given the name that the father’s
mother would have given her third son if she had had one. In this case, the boy would be
named after the father’s father (grandfather’s) first brother.
Twins are named either on the mother’s side or the father’s side depending on their
position and sex. For example, if male twins are firstborns, the first will be named after
the father’s father and the second after the father’s first brother. If a child—for example,
a third son—dies and another son is born soon after, three naming options exist. The
newborn could be given the same name that had been given to the dead child; in this case,
he would be named after the father’s first brother. Alternatively, he could be given the
name Kariuki or Muriuki, meaning “the one who has risen from the dead,” implying that
the parents feel that the dead child has “risen” in the newborn. A third option is that he
could be given the name of the next relative in the order given in the chart above (e.g.,
Table 1
African folklore 578
Position and Sex Named after
1st male Father’s father
1st female Father’s mother
2nd male Mother’s father
2nd female Mother’s mother
3rd male Father’s first brother
3rd female Father’s first sister
4th male Mother’s first brother
4th female Mother’s first sister
what would have happened if his predecessor were still alive), and, in this case, be named
after the mother’s first brother. The same case would apply to a girl born immediately