Inspiration behind the names
So why are first names with very specific meanings in the English language such a common phenomenon in Zimbabwe? To understand this, we must first understand the country’s demography, ethnic and local language landscape.
The country is made up of multiple ethnic groups, with the Shona ethnic group making up about 80 per cent of Zimbabwe’s 15 million people.
The Ndebele makes up about 14 per cent of the population.
As a former British colony, Zimbabwe has English as its official language, alongside Shona and Ndebele.
Culturally, the Shona and Ndebele people like to assign names to children based on specific events around a child’s birth. These names can be inspired by varied events like personal triumph or tragedy, lived experiences of regret or defiance and personal heroes.
In some cases, the names are meant to serve as a reminder, warning, criticism. Some take the form of rhetoric questions, like “Whoknows” for example. A Shona family that was recently bereaved may name a newborn Monyaradzi to mean ‘one who comforts’ or ‘Comforter’ in English. Chikonzero, also a Shona name, means ‘Risen’, while Chiedza means ‘Shine’.
It is the same philosophy that Zimbabweans try to apply to their names in English.
According to an article published in Zimbabwe’s state-owned newspaper Herald, the first names the Shona people give their children are thought out in the native language and then translated to English.
And because some of these concepts might be longer or more complicated in the local language, a parent can direct that the child’s name be translated to the much simpler English version and inscribed on the birth certificate as a first name.