a cultural lesson in names

we have been discussing the name will we give our ghanaian son.
our original intent was to keep our ghana baby's given name, but his current name is one that would prove to be confusing in our family (you'll understand once we can legally tell you what it is/was).
so, i dug out my anthropological notes from my internship days in ghana and we had a cultural lesson in naming....'cause i'm nerdy like that.

first names in ghana can cover a wide range - just like here in the US: biblical, family names, we-just-like-it names.  there are also a lot of "characteristic" names: patience, happiness, prince/princess, justice, etc.
one of my favorite parts of ghanaian naming is the use of a "soul name."  especially among the akan and fante tribes, middle names are given based on which day of the week a child is born or their birth-order within the family.

*for males*
monday: kojo, kwadjo, jojo, cudjoe
tuesday: kwabena, ebo, kobena, kobina
wednesday:kwaku, kweku, kwiku
thursday: yaw, ekow, yao, yokow
friday: kofi, fifi, yoofi
saturday: kwame, ato, atoaperm, kwamena, kwani
sunday: kwasi, akwasi, kwesi

*for females*
monday: adwoa, adzo, ajoba, ejo, adjoa
tuesday: abena, abia, araba, abina
wednesday: akua, akuba, ekuwa, kukuwa
thursday: yaa, aba, ayawo, yaaba, yaayaa
friday: afua, afi, afia, efie, efua
saturday: ama, awo
sunday: akosua, esi, kisi

*characteristics of each day*
monday's child is the father or mother in the family, nurturing in nature, protective, dependable, organized.
tuesday's child is the planner, neutral in all matters, and very structured.
wednesday's child does not want to be told what to do, knows it all, is vibrant and in control of every situation.
thursday's child is very observant, a good listener, quiet in nature, and analytical.
friday's child is a leader, but very temperamental.  they are the instigator of everything.
saturday's child is the rule-maker and takes control, but self-sacrificing to help others.
sunday's child is sensitive, shy, passive, and a secret keeper.

the anthropologist in me really comes out at times like this.  *grin*  but isn't it fun?  did your soul name match up with your personality?

we'd also like to tell you what name we have chosen for our third son.  we can share it with you because its not in any way connected to him legally right now!




please pray for our solomon matthew cain.





(and in case you were wondering, we will be keeping his given first name as a second middle name.  we really wanted to keep his "soul" name too, but it was just too much of a mouth-full.  HA!)