The Uniqueness of my name, James

In the story of creation, every living thing was given an identity by name. These names usually stem from the features of the living thing or what the living thing has the potential to become. It is amazing that even non-living things have names. Names are thus crucial to one’s identity. While in elementary or high school, some of us may have been called names that are not ours when an abuse or insult is intended, such as goat, bingo, fish, or even monkey, which was annoying.

This most often hurts us a lot, and we are most often prompted to retaliate with the same gesture or even get into a brawl if need be. It dampens our spirits when parents, teachers, or guardians ask us if we are those unwanted names like goat that we are called, and we reply with a NO, then they tell us not to worry since that is not the name given us by our parents.

Here in Nigeria and most other countries, a child is named on the eighth day after birth, which is tagged a "naming ceremony". Friends of the parents and religious leaders are usually invited to such simple occasions. During this period, the child in focus is oblivious to what the occasion is all about and concerned only with sleep, breast milk, or crying. Some parents can give children a few names that may not exceed five, while some children can have names up to fifteen or above. However, there is usually a favorite name that all people call such a child.

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I am one of the lucky few who have few and countable names. My surname is Musa, and my first name is James. The other names I have are Jiya and Danjuma. I have had the occasion to seek out the meaning of my names at some points, which I am glad I did. For those that are familiar with Islamic and Christian names, the combination of Musa James brings a type of controversy as to which religion I am. I am of the Nupe tribe, and the interpretation of Moses in the tribe is Musa, which is in tandem with the Islamic name Musa. I remember vividly, some years ago, a brother of mine who told my father he wanted to change his surname for some personal reasons. It was a funny scenario, as my dad told him he would not approve while he was alive. Thankfully, both are alive, and no name has been changed.

I enjoyed the prompt on nicknames by #hivelearners a while ago, and there are some of us that people know by nicknames but may not remember what our real names are.

My real names have been aforementioned; however, let me run down the names with their meanings:

Musa: saved from the water

James: supplanter is interpreted as someone who seizes, circumvents, or usurps

Jiya: Heart; Sweetheart; Radiance; Light; Sunshine, and in my tribe, it means chief.

Danjuma: refers to someone born on Friday.

I am certain you have seen and understood the beauty and meaning of my names. Rather than wish to change any of my names, I have chosen to embrace them.

Thank you for reading. I would love to have your comments and contributions.