What do you call your child?

As Obama-mania continues to rock the world, Kenyans are expressing their admiration for the new President of the United States in the way they know best – by giving their new-born babies either or all of his names.

Indeed, the Obama victory that began with his winning the election last November and culminated in his inauguration into office this month has caused quite a stir in Kenyan maternity hospitals.

A story published in the Daily Metro late last year reported that close to 100 babies in Kenya who were born on the eve of the US elections now bear the names of the president or other members of the new First Family – his wife Michelle and daughters Malia and Sasha.

The Obama obsession surprised staff at the Pumwani Maternity Hospital in Nairobi, with secretary Sylverio Wanjira saying, “I have never seen anything like this. Normally, babies are named in cultural ceremonies after they have left the hospital, but in the last few weeks, we have been registering the names immediately following the births because parents have already decided they want their children named Barack, Obama or Michelle.”

At the Nyanza Provincial General Hospital, over 20 children were named after Obama with almost half that number taking the name Michelle in the last one week. At a Marie Stopes facility in Kisumu, about 10 babies were named after the American First Couple on the eve of the polls.

The names included Emanuel Senator Obama, Brian Obama Otieno, Barack Obama, Michelle Akinyi, Walter Barack and Michelle Obama.

At one famous traditional birth attendant clinic in the sprawling Manyatta slums on the outskirts of the town, at least 15 babies were named after Obama or Michelle. And according to the New York Times, the name Obama was a big hit among new-borns in the US over the same period.

“Everybody is excited and wants to be associated with the virtues of courage and determination that Obama has exhibited,” says Esther Kuni Kongere, a private midwife running the Manyatta facility where the babies were born. She adds that the number of Obama babies could be higher, given that some births are yet to be recorded.

Baby-naming has always been considered an important activity, especially among Africans, with different cultures doing it differently. Indeed, naming a child is so important that sometimes it takes days, even weeks to finally bestow a name on a child. In Sweden, parents take up to three months to decide on a name!

But early last year, the Swedish Tax Agency sent letters to parents of children who had taken “too long” to give first names to their children for the tax registry. This new directive would see non-compliant parents face fines of up to $1,200 (Sh94,800).

“It is every child’s right to have a name,” said the Tax Agency officials in a story reported in The Local. The agency was focusing on the parents of 400 “nameless” children but officials believe there are many more offenders in the country.

Sense of identity

So why is a name so important? The truth is that a child would still grow up without a name, but he or she will have been denied that all-important sense of identity. “He or she would feel insecure; unsure of his or her real self and where he or she belongs,” says Winnie Kitetu, a clinical psychologist at the Mountain Peak Psycho-social Centre in Nairobi.

Winnie adds that a name is what defines who we are. “The ‘real’ us can be found in our names. Unfortunately, that is what most parents overlook when it comes to choosing a name for their children,” she says.

Certain factors determine the name to be given to a child, the most obvious being gender. In Kenya, different communities have drawn from cultural traditions over the years. In Nyanza and Western provinces, for instance, children are named after climatic seasons as well as relatives, who are more often than not deceased.

The time during which a child is born is another factor. It could be that the parents are experiencing a particularly difficult period, or a time of significant success, when a child is born. The name given to the child will often reflect whatever is going on at that time.

Other communities, such as some from Central Province, have a strict naming tradition so there is no dispute when it comes time to give a baby his or her name.

There are those who pick names in keeping with their religious faith. Christians often refer to the Bible while among the Hindus, parents will wait 10 days after delivery and then refer to their holy book for guidance.

The new parents approach the priest, who opens the first three pages of the holy book and picks on the first three letters, which he hands over to them. They go home and search for the name that pleases them most that begins with any of the three letters, and the baby is named.

Among the Luo community, it is common to name children after successful or famous people. Many children, especially boys, bear the names of political heroes such as Tom Mboya, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, Steve Biko, Kwame Nkrumah, Nelson Mandela and more recently, Barack Obama.

Children are also named after important events, such as last year’s mediation process between the two main political parties by former UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan following the post-election violence. It would not be unusual to find a Kenyan child named Kofi Annan or even Mediator.

However, modern Kenyan parents are moving away from tradition and looking elsewhere for baby names – in books, among entertainment and sports celebrities, on the internet and even from foreign words.

That is how names like Tyra, Diana, Camilla, Ronaldo and Serena have found their way here. Famous places, or places that evoke fond memories for one or both parents, are also being used as baby names. Paris, Milan and even Kenya are examples of this.

However, there has been a growing trend in Kenya that has seen many dropping their baptismal names and preferring to be known by their cultural names. Even among modern Christian pastors, there are those who have reverted to their African names. In some churches, children are being baptised without necessarily taking on a biblical name.

Since names are supposed to be permanent, there are certain factors that should be considered before assigning a particular name to a child. If, for instance, parents want to name their child after a relative or a celebrity, they should take into account the history and character of the person.

Anti-social behaviour

“One should first find out if such person has or ever displayed anti-social behaviour, as it is very possible that the child would associate with these same characteristics through the name,” says Winnie. Likewise, if the person has or had positive attributes, the child is most likely to associate with those.

If the child is named after a respected personality, there is a high likelihood that the family, and especially the child, will be respected in their community. “The child may be made to feel special,” says Winnie.

However, this can work for good or bad depending on whether or not the child picks up the qualities that are/were respected in the person he or she is named after. “Sometimes parents might spoil the child and then find it hard to discipline him or her, with serious consequences.”

The aesthetics of a name is another factor that should be taken into consideration. Ideally, a child’s name should not be a mouthful. “It should be short and pleasant so that peers can pronounce it easily and not nickname the child or shorten it as they please,” says Winnie.

One should also consider what is in the name. Meaning is another important factor as it could negatively affect the child when he or she discovers that his or her name has negative connotations.

“Do not pick up a name just because you like the sound of it,” warns Winnie. “It should have a positive meaning so that it impacts positively on the child and he or she can learn to appreciate it.”