Ask any European his or her date of birth, and the answer is
given within a second, but go on further to ask, “On what day were you
born?” That’s really a tough question to
answer because the day of the week on which one is born is less important to
them.
In Africa, especially in Ghana, traditionally, a day of the
week determines the name given to a baby. We’ve often heard that a good name is
better than riches. Many are given names of great people, but for ages,
Ghanaians have followed the tradition of their ancestors to give names to babies.
A male child born on Sunday is given ‘Kwesi’, and ‘Akosua’
goes to a female child because Sunday in the Akan language is called ‘Kwesida ’. ‘Kodwo or Kojo’ goes to a male child born on Monday, and ‘Adwoa or Ajoa’
goes to a female child because Monday is ‘Edzuda’. ‘Kobina’ is given to a male
child born on Tuesday and ‘Abena’ to a female child, because Tuesday is
‘Ebenada.’
On Wednesday, a male child is named ‘Kweku or Kwaku’ and a
female child is named ‘Akua’ because Wednesday is ‘Ikuda.’ ‘Yaw’ goes to a male
child born on Thursday, and ‘Yaa’ goes to a female child because Thursday is
‘Yawda, pronounced ‘Yauda.’
‘Kofi’ goes to a male child born on Friday, and ‘Afua’ goes
to a female child, because Friday is ‘Ifida.’ Finally, ‘Ato, Kwame, or Kwamena’
goes to a male child born on Saturday, and ‘Ama’ goes to a female child because
Saturday is ‘Miminda.’
In Ghana, a male child can be named ‘Mensah’ because he is
the third child of his parents, and ‘Mansa’ to a third female child. This
tradition of naming babies has inspired many foreigners, including Europeans
and Americans, to give themselves traditional names corresponding with the day
they were born.