What's In a Name?

Does your name have a specific meaning? Maybe you were named after a dear friend or family member. Is there a tradition that was upheld by giving you the name you have? Does it rhyme or share some similar trait with your siblings? Or did your parents choose your name simply because they liked the way it sounds?

In the Xhosa culture, names are given special thought and all of them have a specific meaning. Thulani is a very common name and it means, “Be quiet.” Perhaps mothers are praying for a child who isn’t too loud when they give this name. Thandiwe means ‘loving one’, Nomuula means ‘rain’. Nosine means ‘one who is born on a Thursday.’ Ha! Regardless of how deep or practical these names are, many of them are difficult for my American tongue to pronounce. I’ve been doing my best, but all these consonants and clicks are somewhat of a mind warp sometimes!

Anyways, I was sitting in the office last week and Themba (meaning: trust) came up to me and stated that I needed a Xhosa name. Most of the people in my office have a Xhosa name and an English name (for those of us who struggle with the consonants and clicks) so it was only fitting that I had a name easy enough for my Xhosa friends to pronounce. It’s more of an acceptance thing and term of endearment really because their English is quite good. He asked me what I wanted to be called and I had absolutely no idea so I just told him to pick one. After some loud Xhosa conversation among other office-mates, a consensus was reached and I was given a name—Liziwe.

My office friends wouldn’t tell me what it meant for most of the day and for a while I was starting to get a little nervous that it meant something bad or silly. By the end of the day, they decided I had waited long enough and decided to enlighten me....Liziwe means “a gift.” Honestly, I thought I was given the girl name for “One born on a Thursday” because that’s when I arrived. What a relief and special gift to be given such a Xhosa name! From that day forward, I think I’ve only been called Lindsay twice. Guess that means I’m no longer English-speaking in the office—from here on out, it’s Xhosa all the way! J