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The Akan people of Ghana, Ivory Coast and Togo frequently name their children after the day of the week they were born and the order in which they were born. These "day names" have further meanings concerning the soul and character of the person.
Ghanaian names (or personal names in Ghana) consist of several given names and surnames based on the language of ethnic groups in Ghana: including Akan, Dagomba, Ga, Ewe and Nzema. Frequently, children are given a "day name" which corresponds to the day in the week when they were born.
Understandably there is no equivalent in English to the six-day week. The seven-day week of the English and Akan calendars are, however, equivalent, with the suffix -da (day) added to the names of the days in the above list (Sunday is Kwasida, Saturday is Memenada, and so on). Every second year or so Easter occurs on an Akwasidae.
Example: Damba (for males), Chimsi (Chimsi is also the name of a month and festival). Another class of names are given to babies to signify the day of the week they are born. Unlike the southern part of Ghana, this class is less prevalent among the Mole-Dagombas and have no implications for the individual's social identity.
Yaw is a masculine given name originating from the Akan people and their day naming system, meaning "born on a Thursday" in Akan language, following their day naming system. [1] People born on particular days are supposed to exhibit the characteristics or attributes and philosophy, associated with the days.
Day names in Ghana have varying spellings. This is so because of the various Akan subgroups. [3] [5] Each Akan subgroup has a similar or different spelling for the day name to other Akan subgroups. Akua is spelt Akua by the Akuapem, Akyem, Bono and Ashanti subgroups while the Fante subgroup spell it as Ekua or Kuukua.
Adwoa is a given name used for women born on Monday in Western Africa, particularly Ghana and some parts of Togo, southern Benin and Ivory Coast. [1] Day names are a cultural practice of the Akan people of Ghana and the Ivory Coast. It is actually practiced by all Akan (i.e. all the various Akan subgroups) people who follow traditional customs. [2]
Most Ghanaian children have their cultural day names in combination with their English or Christian names. Some notable people with such names are: Kwaku Boateng (born 1995), Canadian high-jumper [5] (Francis) Kwaku Sakyi Addo, Ghanaian radio journalist [5] Kwaku Alston American photographer [5] Kwaku Manu (born 1984), Ghanaian actor