Reflecting on ‘What’s in a Name’
For whatever reason, my kids names have been a topic of conversation a lot lately. I suppose they always will be, which is something I now realize is so special. If someone introduces their child and announces their name is Razor or River or Aspen or Archer, our brains are trained to digest that as “2017 names” rather than “unusual name.” When I announce my children’s names are Keogena Na’Airah and Oshiolema Michael, many people try to digest that and their brains are trained to say “does not compute.”
I wrote this post so long ago- two years ago, to be exact- seven months after the birth of my first baby and one year before the birth of my second. I have learned so much since this time and yet I still find these words so relevant for me as a half-white, half-black mother to second generation Nigerian babies. I hope you enjoy these words. Also- I meet so people who usually read my kids names and the first thing they say is “I’ve been saying it wrong in my head this whole time!” It always makes me laugh. Just so this lives here forever: Oshiomogho (my husband): Oh-shim-uh-go. Oshiolema (my son): Oh-show-leh-muh. Keogena (my daughter) Kay-oh-Geh-nuh.
You can read the original post right here
