Category: Blog

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet” 

William Shakespeare – Romeo and Juliet

Names fascinate me.

When I meet a new person, I’m usually very curious about one piece of information – their name. When it’s a name I have not heard before, I am curious about the meaning of their name. I’m not sure where this curiosity stems from, but I suspect it comes from the deep appreciation of names and their meanings in Yoruba culture. Yoruba names carry specific meanings, from the family trade to the blessings and wishes of the family for the new child.

Recently, I watched a video by Jola Ayeye of Happy Noisemaker where she and her dad talked about her name with the tagline “who do you think you are?”. My name is Ọpẹ́olúwa (The grace of God/grateful to God) Olúwakẹ́mi (The lord pets/takes care of me) Oyèwọlé (Honour has entered the house) (Source).

During our trip to drop me off in college in January 2010, along with the ‘be a good girl” and “remember where you’re from” speeches, my dad and I discussed what I would like to be called in the US. (The invisible ‘k’ in the pronunciation of my first name, makes the ‘p’ sound like ‘kp’, so my name is pronounced more like ‘Uh-kpeh’.) I settled on my first name, pronouncing it ‘Oh-pay’ instead, to accommodate non-native speakers. I’ve grown used to hearing my name pronounced this way now, but there’s a certain joy and feeling of being known I experience when someone says ‘Ope’ just right!

As for who I think I am? I am a carrier of grace and gratitude, resting in the knowledge that I am cared for.