Nurturing Igbo Identity: A Socio-Pragmatic Study of Naming Practices Among Diasporic Igbo of Southeastern Nigeria

Abstract

The paper explores how the diasporic Igbo community portrays its cultural identity through personal names and naming practices in a globalised context. The study employs a qualitative approach, involving computer-assisted semi-structured interviews with 26 diasporic Igbo individuals residing in the United States of America (USA), to examine how names are constructed to reflect cultural identity, community ties, and connections to the Igbo society. The paper adopts the sociocultural linguistic theory of identity to examine how culture and society shape language use, analysing names as social acts that establish connections to the Igbo community and cultural heritage. The paper examines how Igbo migrants negotiate traditional naming practices in the diaspora and communicate their cultural identity and worldviews through naming. The findings reveal that the diaspora Igbo community conveys its cultural identity, migration history, and emotional connection to its homeland while maintaining social relationships in its host country. The study will provide insight into the role of names in preserving cultural identity and fostering a sense of belonging among the diasporic Igbo community.

1. Introduction

Preserving cultural heritage and identity does not entail only the archival or documentation of cultural artefacts; it also involves maintaining a connection to one’s roots, promoting cultural identity, supporting identity formation, and everyday social practices such as naming. In most African societies, naming is a symbolic act through which communities articulate their cosmologies and social relations (Agyekum 2006; Obeng 2001). Names shape an individual’s identity and the relationship between them and their social environment. The naming system varies from one cultural setting to another, as naming practices are rooted in cultural beliefs and sometimes reflect that culture’s language. Saparniyazova and Sabirova (2023) note that there is a profound connection between names and cultural identity, reflecting the rich tapestry of traditions, beliefs, and historical legacies within diverse linguistic communities.

Onwuatuegwu (2024) notes that the Igbo of Southeastern Nigeria are one of Nigeria’s major ethnic groups, with a rich cultural heritage and a unique worldview and philosophy. Among the Igbo, names (aha) carry profound semiotic weight. Names function as linguistic artefacts that index lineage, spirituality, personal circumstances, and collective memory (Omachonu and Ejeba 2023; Ubahakwe 1981). Igbo names often encapsulate moral philosophies and theistic orientations, foregrounding the centrality of Chukwu (God), fate, communal expectations, and social experiences.

Migration and globalisation continually reshape naming practices; notwithstanding this, in the context of diaspora, with emphasis on Igbo people who migrated to the United States, naming practices are essential for nurturing and preserving Igbo identity despite the heterogeneous linguistic landscapes. Identity relates to who individuals are, their religion, gender, ethnicity, and nationality. Akinnaso (1981) opines that a name is a crucial site for negotiating identity in transnational spaces, creating identity or affiliation to a particular society. The diaspora presents both opportunities and pressures: while parents may desire to transmit linguistic and cultural heritage through indigenous names, they also confront host-society norms that may influence or constrain these choices (Fishman 1999). Naming, therefore, becomes a socio-pragmatic act that reflects intentional identity positioning, cultural continuity, and social adaptation (Ehineni 2019).

The diasporic Igbo community, according to Udeze et al. (2024), has an estimated population of over 10 million worldwide, with the United States hosting the largest Igbo diaspora. Igbo people are also known for their sense of tradition and community identity, which they maintain through their attire, foods and names. In diasporic Igbo contexts, names emerge as ideological statements about belonging, resistance, memory, and cultural survival. Parents may choose traditional Igbo names to assert ethnic pride, resist assimilation pressures, or maintain transgenerational ties to homeland identities (Onwuatuegwu 2024). However, in the diasporic context, naming may be influenced by the dominant culture, leading to anglicized names. Conversely, hybrid or anglicised naming choices may indicate strategic navigation of multicultural environments, where intelligibility, social mobility, or reduced discrimination are pragmatic concerns (Alba 2005).

Despite the cultural richness and ideological complexity embedded in Igbo naming practices, scholarly attention has primarily focused on homeland contexts or on migration to other parts of Nigeria (Ansa and Okon 2004), leaving a lacuna in understanding how diasporic Igbo in Western countries negotiate identity through naming. This study, therefore, investigates the socio-pragmatic dimensions of naming among diasporic Igbo, examining how naming choices serve as communicative tools for nurturing identity, preserving cultural heritage, and navigating life in multicultural landscapes. A socio-pragmatic study exploring these practices can illuminate how diasporic families sustain cultural identity, resist erasure, and reimagine Igbo identity in global settings. This study focuses on African-origin Igbo names, and the analysis of English and Anglicized names falls beyond the paper’s scope. This study adopts Bucholtz and Hall’s (2005) sociocultural linguistic framework of identity and indexicality, which views linguistic forms, including personal names, as semiotic resources through which speakers construct, negotiate, and display social identities. This framework is appropriate for analysing diasporic Igbo naming practices because names function as indexical markers of ethnicity, belonging, cultural continuity, and ideological positioning within multicultural environments. The present study addresses the following research objectives:

• To identify and classify names given by diasporic Igbo families.
• To analyse how diasporic Igbo parents use naming as a socio-pragmatic strategy for constructing and negotiating identity.

2. Literature Review

Identity construction and preservation are integral in socio-pragmatic discourse. The Igbo of southeastern Nigeria seek to nurture their cultural heritage through naming practices. According to Nnamdi-Eruchalu (2018), personal names convey the social identity of the bearer and reflect the ideologies, beliefs, social values, and norms of the bearer and the name-giver. Naming practices are one way to identify a person and their community. It is believed that names play an important role in the bearer’s life. In most African societies, names are not given because they sound pleasant to the hearers or the name-givers; names are primarily designed based on the circumstances surrounding one’s birth (Kammelu 2008). Apart from telling the circumstances of birth, a name also communicates where a person comes from. A name is also a means of family and communal affiliation.

In Africa, a name is viewed as a message that the name-giver conveys to society through the bearer of that name (Mutunda 2011). Personal names help people understand the happenings in the name-giver’s life and inform them about the worldview of the name-giver, the bearer, and their society. In support of Mutunda (2011), Salih and Ahmed (2022) report that omen is another factor that influences naming. Dwivedi (2000) asserts that an omen is a situation that denotes destiny, and its occurrence gives someone a clear message about what lies in the unseen. In contrast, in countries like America, people are influenced by literature, such as books, television, and other social media, in selecting names. However, personal names are predominantly given by parents based on cultural or personal preferences, such as meanings, family traditions, and the circumstances surrounding the child’s birth (Salih and Ahmed 2022). Salih and Ahmed’s (2022) study focuses on naming among US residents who have lived in the United States for multiple generations. In contrast, this study examines how the Igbo diasporic community’s cultural background influences their naming practices in the diaspora.

The extant literature examined the social and cultural significance of names across different contexts. Mbisike (2024) explores personal names as identity markers among married Igbo women in Nigeria from a socio-pragmatic perspective. He studied names that address the contributions of married Igbo women to the family and observed that wealth names ascribed to Igbo married women convey their economic value and their level of dependency within the family. Wealth names ascribed to married Igbo women express the roles they play and how they are perceived in the community. Mbisike’s study is related to the present study because both examine Igbo names from a socio-pragmatic perspective but differ in that Mbisike’s study focuses on the conceptualisation of married Igbo women’s wealth names.

Michael and Mensah (2025) explore the cultural context of Nsirimo (Igbo) personal names in Abia State, southeastern Nigeria. They argue that personal names are resources for the construction of cultural identity, and names also express emotions, delay in childbirth, time of death, gender bias, infant mortality, religious and traditional beliefs. A name is a verbal identity that expresses the name-giver’s thoughts, desires, aspirations, orientation, and cultural values. Michael and Mensah (2025) differ in that they focus on the cultural context of naming in Nsirimo, a speech community in Igbo, southeastern Nigeria. In contrast, the present study explores naming among the diasporic Igbo residing in the USA.

Diko (2024) studies what he referred to as the three components of amaXhosa naming practices, namely clan names, birth names, and personal names, as its data source using sociocultural theory. Diko notes that amaXhosa naming practices are carried out for spiritual, religious, ancestral, and personal reasons, as well as for the familial dimensions of life in society. Diko (2024) suggests that a name could function as a unique code for family, clan, lineage, or ancestral identification (Moyo and Nombembe 2022). Similarly, Charwi (2019) avers that in Datooga, a Nilotic language spoken in Tanzania, naming is determined by factors such as seasons of the year, personal characteristics, events, physical appearance, time of day, everyday things, respect, parents’ habits, and circumstances.

According to Charwi (2019), names such as Getabak’ are given to children from a family that is not well off. It is particularly given to a male child born to a woman who is poor and comes from a low-income family that has numerous problems. Considering these views, as in Igbo culture, amaXhosa and Datooga names are not mere words; they express layers of meaning that vary with the context of use. By applying the socio-pragmatic framework, we argue that the intentions of the name-givers are a predominant factor in naming.

Among the Akan people of Ghana, sex, hierarchy, the circumstances surrounding the birth, the baby’s physical features at birth, the day of delivery, and the influence of naming are factors (Agyekum 2006). Odebode (2013) believes that naming practices in Nigeria are generally similar, noting that Efik personal names provide evidence of the name-giver’s genealogy, the family’s social relationships, and cultural, religious, and historical events that impacted the name-giver, the name, and the society. Similarly, this study demonstrates the role of personal names in shaping the cultural identity, worldview, experiences, and migration history of the diasporic Ibo. In doing so, it examines how they maintain social relationships within their host community while sustaining their cultural heritage through naming.

Onwuneme (2024), in his investigation of the motivation behind the Anglicisation of names among students and teachers of African origin in the United Kingdom, observes that they Anglicise their names due to the linguistic accessibility that Anglicised names offer in English-speaking contexts. Onwuneme further noted that Anglicised names facilitate smooth communication and help strike a balance within their host community. While their study focuses on shifts in naming practices to accommodate their host, the present study provides insight into the construction of cultural identity and community ties through naming practices among diasporic Igbo living in the United States of America.

Ukaegbu and Okon (2024) study the shift in Igbo naming patterns using the causal theory of names. They argue that traditional naming patterns or practices in Igbo, especially among the diasporic community, have taken a new dimension due to access to Western culture, social media, contact, creativity, and the rise of Pentecostalism. Ukaegbu and Okon assert that immigrants with foreign names are easily identified; hence, they change their names to minimise labelling and discrimination as they integrate with their host community. In ongoing cultural sustainability advocacy, some diasporic Igbo are shaping naming practices that help preserve Igbo heritage without fear or favour. Conversely, this study explores the diasporic Igbo’s efforts to promote naming practices that contribute to identity formation and cultural sustainability.

Gerhards and Tuppart (2020), in their research titled “Boundary-maintenance or boundary-crossing among immigrants in Germany,” examine why some immigrants choose names common in their home country. They maintain that some immigrants bestow names on their children that are common in their host community. In contrast, others adopt boundary-maintenance strategies and choose names from their place of origin. They note that the number of immigrants living in Germany who choose a boundary-crossing naming strategy is higher than that of those who employ a boundary-maintenance strategy. They argue that cultural proximity influences the adoption of Germany’s naming pattern because their culture is closely aligned with Germany’s. This implies that those with a similar cultural background to Germany are more likely to adopt a boundary-crossing strategy.

The extant literature shows that names are chosen to reflect cultural values and the experiences of the name-givers. It has also been shown that naming is based on family/communal history and ancestral heritage. Studies on the influence of modern trends on naming practices note an increase in the loss of traditional values and identity. However, unlike previous studies that focus on the decline of traditional naming practices, this study highlights the diasporic Igbo in the USA’s efforts to preserve their identity through naming. This study explores how naming practices shape Igbo identity in the context of diaspora from a socio-pragmatic perspective.

3. Theoretical Framework

This study is anchored in the sociocultural linguistic theory of identity (Bucholtz and Hall 2005). The framework provides a robust socio-pragmatic lens for examining how diasporic Igbo parents deploy naming practices as communicative tools to nurture ethnic identity, preserve cultural continuity, and navigate multicultural environments. Bucholtz and Hall’s (2005) sociocultural linguistic framework conceptualises identity as a relational, emergent, and context-dependent phenomenon, performed through linguistic and semiotic practices. Lawler (2014, p. 24) describes identities as assemblages of ‘various memories, experiences, episodes’ to show “how we come to be the way we are.” Identity reveals our belief system, who we are, and where we are from, and this can be done through naming. Zhou et al. (2025) note that the sociocultural theory of identity emphasises the social positioning of the self and others, and individual identities not only reflect, but also shape the cultural terrain. This implies that culture not only influences individuals, but individuals also influence culture.

This theory is particularly relevant to the present study because personal names function as indexical signs, pointing to social meanings such as ethnicity, lineage, spirituality, gender, homeland affiliation, and ideological orientation. Within diasporic spaces, Igbo names become semiotic markers that signal ethnic pride and cultural rootedness, resistance to linguistic/cultural assimilation, hybrid identities shaped by global mobility, and intergenerational identity transmission.

Through this perspective, naming practices are understood as semiotic strategies for constructing “Igbo-ness” across borders. The diasporic context further amplifies the indexical value of names, making them tools for negotiating belonging and cultural memory. Sociocultural Linguistic Theory thus provides the analytical framework for understanding how naming is used to perform, negotiate, and sustain identity within transnational contexts. The analysis will be anchored on the five principles of identity according to Bucholtz and Hall’s (2005), as explained thus:

• Emergence: Identity is not fixed; it comes into being through interaction. It emerges moment by moment in discourse rather than existing beforehand.
• Positionality: Speakers position themselves and others through language, taking up social, moral, epistemic, and emotional stances. These positions help construct their identities within interaction.
• Indexicality: Identity is created through linguistic forms that point to (index) social meanings—such as accents, styles, labels, or stances. These indices link language use to social categories (e.g., gender, class, ideology).
• Relationality: Identity is defined through relationships of similarity and difference—such as aligning, distancing, or contrasting oneself with others. It emphasises identity as relational rather than individual.
• Partialness: Identity construction is always incomplete and selective. Any representation of identity captures only a partial aspect of who someone is, shaped by context and perspective.

4. Methodology

This study employed a qualitative research design through computer-assisted semi-structured interviews to gather data from twenty-six diasporic Igbo participants residing in the United States of America. Eighteen participants were male, while eight were female. The gender imbalance in participant selection stems from the fact that men are the primary leaders in traditional naming rituals and practices in Igbo society. Data for this study were collected through a 2-month computer-assisted semi-structured interview. Ten Participants were recruited purposefully through social media platforms such as Facebook and professional networks such as LinkedIn. The choice of Facebook is because it has a search function that helps identify participants suitable for the research based on their content niche. At the same time, LinkedIn, as a professional network, gave us access to the profiles of diasporic Igbo individuals who were interested in sharing their diasporic experiences and views on naming practices. The remaining sixteen participants were selected through snowball sampling. Snowball sampling is a purposive sampling method in which the initial sample is asked to recommend others who fit the research criteria and are willing to participate, who in turn may provide referrals to recruit other participants (Crouse and Lowe 2018).

This study was conducted in line with the University of Calabar Directorate of Research and Development Committee research guidelines, and written approval was obtained from the University of Calabar Ethics Committee. Information on the nature of the research, the interviews, the research objectives, the interview time, and the need to record the interviews was sent to the participants to prepare them for the interview. Participants provided written consent prior to the interviews to have them recorded and to use the data for this study. The participants are diasporic Igbo residents in the USA aged 18 to 70. The US is ideal for studying Igbo cultural practices through names because it has a large diasporic Igbo community. The age group is adult participants who have reached the age to give informed consent and who have diverse experiences with traditional and modern naming practices within the diasporic Igbo community.

Computer-assisted semi-structured interviews were conducted via Zoom or Google Meet because they are popular and easy to use, and they facilitate recording for analysis. Each interview session lasted between 30 and 60 min, depending on the participant’s level of commitment and the depth of their knowledge of the research questions. We recorded the interviews by clicking the record button on the Zoom and Google Meet pages, with participants’ consent. An interview guide was developed to ensure consistency while allowing for flexibility and probing. Questions were asked about the types of names given to their children as diasporic Igbo, the motivations behind the names, and the perceptions of the names by the diasporic Igbo and/or their host communities. The interviews were conducted individually with each participant. The participants gave informed consent to be identified by their real names in the analysis. Participants were allowed to choose their preferred language(s). They preferred the Igbo language and requested code-mixing between Igbo and English to facilitate a smooth flow. The Igbo personal names recorded among the diasporic Igbo community living in the US sample (N = 26) were coded as official names as they appear on the name bearers’ birth certificates. The participants noted that the names are also used within their households.

Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis. Interviews were transcribed by the lead researcher, a member of the Igbo community, and validated by a trained Igbo researcher from the National Institute of Nigerian Languages (NINLAN) in Aba. The names were left in their original form, but a gloss was provided while other transcripts were translated into English for analysis. Participants were asked to validate their transcripts to ensure accurate translations, transparency, and credibility. Coding was done manually and deductively, by identifying related themes and patterns and classifying them into themes and subthemes for analysis. Data were analysed using the sociocultural theory of identity (Bucholtz and Hall 2005).

5. Data Analysis and Findings

Given that naming is both a cultural practice and a socio-pragmatic act, the analysis adopts a qualitative, interpretive approach aimed at uncovering the identity meanings, ideological orientations, and communicative intentions embedded in the naming choices of diasporic Igbo families, applying principles of Emergence, Positionality, Indexicality, Relationality, and Partialness (Bucholtz and Hall 2005), to show how the names perform diasporic Igbo identity work. The names, as noted by the diasporic Igbo community in the USA, are pre-existing Igbo names with variant interpretations based on the intentions of the name-givers and the contexts of use. These are identified and discussed under five themes below:

5.1. Names That Portray the Feelings of the Diasporic Igbo

Names function as emotional statements, cultural anchors, and identity strategies, allowing diasporic Igbo families to articulate who they are and how they feel in transnational spaces. In diasporic settings, naming becomes a semiotic strategy through which Igbo parents articulate emotional realities, negotiate their sense of belonging, and index their identity across distances. The selected names encode the feelings, fears, hopes and vulnerabilities of diasporic Igbo people. The names in

Table 1. Names that portray the feelings of the diasporic Igbo.

Names	Gloss
Ònyẹ́màẹ́chí	Who knows tomorrow
Éhísányā	My consolation
Chúkwúèméká	God has done so much
Chínwèótító	God owns praises
Ńgọ́zị́kà	Excess blessing
Mụ́nàchíḿsò	My God is with me
Ọ́nụ́ábūchí	Mouth is not God/people’s desire is not the desire of God.
Ígbéàkụ̀	Bag of wealth/child of fortune

reveal how naming practices function as emotional narratives that capture the lived realities of diaspora life, its uncertainties, aspirations, vulnerabilities, and spiritual grounding.

The Igbo names in Table 1 reflect the emotional experiences of parents living in transnational environments. They reflect uncertainty, gratitude, longing for divine protection, and awareness of human limitations. For example, Ònyẹ́màẹ́chí (who knows tomorrow) indexes the parents’ awareness of the unpredictability of migrant life. According to a participant (Ugochukwu, male 43), diaspora often entails unstable legal status, financial risks, and unpredictable futures. At times, people choose names that express emergent emotions tied to life abroad, just as Ònyẹ́màẹ́chí does. Based on the findings, Mụ́nàchíḿsò emerges from the need for protection in foreign spaces where social networks and kinship support are limited—likewise, Chínwèótító indexes dependency on divine sustenance in diaspora. Ńgọ́zị́kà positions the parent as favoured, countering narratives of migrant struggle with positive self-positioning. Chúkwúèméká positions the name-givers and their entire families as grateful, suggesting that migration, childbirth abroad, or survival is perceived as divine favour (Akudimma, female 26).

Gratitude names function as public testimonies of God’s intervention in migrant life. Ọ́nụ́ábūchí indexes the belief that human opinions, often strong in diaspora communities, do not override divine intention. The name Ọ́nụ́ábūchí explicitly contrasts divine authority with human judgment. Evidence from field research shows that Éhísányā conveys feelings of comfort after hardship, emotional healing following loss, separation, or difficulty, and the child as a source of solace during the migrant’s journey. A participant explained as follows:

For many migrants who experience isolation and emotional strain, naming a child as “consolation” positions the child as an emotional anchor, indexing relief and restored hope. In diaspora, where support networks are thin, every breakthrough, legal paperwork, job success, safe childbirth, is experienced as a significant victory.

(Ekeoma, female 26)

The names in Table 1 do not merely describe identity; they perform emotions as they emerge from diasporic challenges. The names reveal how diasporic Igbo parents position themselves in relation to God, their community, their uncertain circumstances, their aspirations, and experiences (Ahamdi, male 60). Other names position the parents as optimistic. For instance, Ígbéàkụ̀ indexes aspirations for prosperity, often a key motivation for migration. These names are thus identity positionings, performed through indexical links between names and diasporic emotions, struggles, and hopes. Each name represents a partial but meaningful slice of diasporic life. These names indicate that the diaspora intensifies spirituality; hence, many foreground God. Through these relational stances, diasporic Igbo parents assert a moral and spiritual positioning that sustains identity in a new environment. These examples demonstrate that names are not only linguistic choices but also emotional narratives that reflect how diasporic Igbo parents interpret, survive, and make meaning of life in a foreign land.

5.2. Names That Communicate Family/Communal Values

The names in this category reflect the deeply communal orientation of Igbo culture, where the individual is embedded within kinship networks, extended family structures, and collective social life. For diasporic Igbo families, these names serve as powerful reminders of the communal ethos that shapes Igbo identity, even when living in contexts that emphasise individualism. The names communicate values of interconnectedness, mutual support, shared responsibility, and the centrality of family bonds.

Table 2. Names that communicate family/communal values.

Names	Gloss
Mádụ̀ká	Human being is more valuable
Sọ̀màdị̀nà	May I not be alone
Ìgwèbụ̀íké	Crowd is strength
Nwákàégō	A child is more important than money
Nwáọ̀hà	Child of all/Everyone’s child
Àdáọ́há	Daughter of all
Íkéńnà	Father’s strength

shows Igbo names that foreground the Igbo communal values. A participant explained that names express family and communal values thus:

In diaspora, where migrants often pursue economic stability and financial success, this name acts as a moral anchor, reminding parents and children that human relationships remain the most important form of wealth. For instance, Mádụ̀ká which means “human being is more valuable” foregrounds the Igbo belief in the primacy of human life and relationships over material wealth. Likewise, Nwákàégō (A child is more important than money) reinforces this ideology by positioning the child not merely as a biological being but as a treasured communal asset whose worth surpasses monetary gain.

(Ogadimma, male 55)

The value of companionship and emotional support is encoded in Sọ̀màdị̀nà (May I not be alone). Sọ̀màdị̀nà name communicates the longing for togetherness and solidarity, feelings that are heightened in diaspora, where separation from family networks is common. Based on the findings, parents articulate their desire to preserve relational closeness despite physical distance from the homeland by naming a child Sọ̀màdị̀nà. Collective strength is also explicitly highlighted in Ìgwèbụ̀íké (crowd is strength). This name indexes a core Igbo communal philosophy that emphasises that individuals derive power, identity, and security from their collective strength (Kanu 2017). A participant (Anyanwu, male 62) affirmed that for diasporic Igbo, who may feel isolated in foreign environments, the name Igwebuike symbolically rebuilds the social networks lost through migration.

Participants recounted that names, such as Nwáọ̀hà (child of all) and Àdáọ́há (daughter of all), position a child as belonging to the wider community, reinforcing the shared responsibility model of Igbo childrearing. In the Igbo worldview, a child is not solely the concern of biological parents but of the entire community (Arinze 2024). These names index an inclusive identity that extends kinship beyond the nuclear family and symbolically reconstructs a sense of belonging in diaspora contexts where communal structures may be weakened. Íkéńnà (father’s strength) also communicates the value placed on lineage continuity and the child’s role in sustaining family legacy. Íkéńnà indexes the emotional and symbolic role of the child as a pillar of support, honour, and future stability within the family structure. Through these names, families reaffirm their cultural identity and reconstruct communal ties despite geographic displacement, ensuring that the ethos of Igbo communalism endures across generations and borders.

5.3. Names That Show the Diasporic Igbo Emotional Connection to Their Homeland

Another category of names, similar to the previous ones, is the category of names showing emotional connections to the homeland. The names in this category highlight the strong emotional bonds diasporic Igbo families maintain with their ancestral homeland. They encode nostalgia, lineage consciousness, and a desire for cultural continuity across generations.

Table 3. Names that show the diasporic Igbo emotional connection to their homeland.

Names	Gloss
Nwáńnékà	Family is supreme
Ụ́mūńnà	Children of the father/Brethren
Jìdéńnà	Hold father
Échèzọ̀là	Do not forget
Ámáéfùlà	May lineage not be lost
Ńnéńnà	Father’s mother
Àdáézè	Daughter of a king

above reflects names that position parents and children as being connected to their homeland. For example, Nwáńnékà (Family is supreme) and Ụ́mūńnà (Brethren) foreground the centrality of kinship in the Igbo worldview. Diasporic Igbo parents reaffirm the primacy of familial bonds and local community structures that define social belonging in Igbo culture through the choice of these names. These names not only celebrate familial unity but also symbolically transport the communal ethos of the homeland into the diasporic context, countering the potential erosion of cultural values in foreign environments.

Lineage preservation emerges as a key emotional theme in names like Ámáéfùlà (May lineage not be lost). Based on interviews, a participant (Anonaba, male 60) asserted that Ámáéfùlà reflects a deep concern for the continuity of family heritage, particularly significant for migrants who may fear that cultural and genealogical ties weaken over time in diaspora. Through such naming choices, parents actively resist the disappearance of ancestral identity, using the name as a linguistic mechanism to sustain intergenerational memory. The theme of remembrance is expressed in, Échèzọ̀là (Do not forget). Échèzọ̀là is a name that directly encodes the emotional plea not to lose connection with one’s roots. In diasporic settings, where assimilation pressures and cultural displacement are common, this name acts as a reminder to future generations to remain anchored to Igbo identity, traditions, and values. A participant asserted that:

Ńnéńnà shows the relational work of connecting the child to a specific familial figure, preserving the memory of a grandmother and affirming the intergenerational bonds that bind diaspora families to their lineage. It reflects the emotional continuity of kinship ties even in the absence of physical proximity. Also, names like Àdáézè evoke cultural pride and ancestral prestige, reinforcing dignity, nobility, and a sense of rootedness in Igbo royalty or leadership traditions.

(Nneoma, female 57)

For diasporic families, these names serve as identity markers as well as cultural affirmations that elevate the child’s sense of belonging to a distinguished heritage. Parents reproduce cultural belonging across borders and generations by naming their children in ways that evoke memory, lineage, community, and ancestral honour (Akudo, female 33). The names act as affective bridges between homeland and diaspora, ensuring that emotional and cultural connections remain vibrant despite physical displacement.

5.4. Names That Express the Diasporic Igbo Expectations

The names in this category reveal the hopes, aspirations, and forward-looking desires of diasporic Igbo parents. They highlight how naming practices become a site through which families project their expectations for prosperity, lineage continuity, moral guidance, and future well-being. In the context of migration, where uncertainties, new beginnings, and social pressures shape everyday life, these names serve as verbal affirmations of what families desire for themselves and for future generations.

Table 4. Names that express the diasporic Igbo expectations.

Names	Gloss
Àkụ̀rụ́lò	May wealth reach home
Òbìèchìnà	May our lineage not end
Ńkèḿdị̀rị́ḿ	May mine be mine
Ùgòńnàyá	His/her father’s eagle
Àzụ̀ńnà	The back of father
Ámáẹ́chìnà	May lineage not go extinct
Zím̄ìhè	Show me light

lists names that reflect parents’ expectations. Names such as Àkụ̀rụ́lò (May wealth reach home) reveal the parents’ positionality, encapsulating the economic expectations commonly associated with migration. A participant (Uzoamaka, female, 48) opined that Igbo migrants often travel abroad in search of better opportunities, and Àkụ̀rụ́lò conveys the hope that prosperity attained in the diaspora will translate into improved living conditions for relatives in the homeland. It indexes the moral obligation to support family networks and reflects the diasporic aspiration for both personal success and communal upliftment. Àzụ̀ńnà (The back of father) and Ùgòńnàyá (His/her father’s eagle) also encode expectations related to honour, familial contribution, and continuity. Àzụ̀ńnà indexes the hope that the child will uphold, protect, and extend the father’s legacy, acting as a metaphorical “backbone.” Ùgòńnàyá relational with the image of an eagle, indexes strength, resilience, and distinction, qualities Igbo parents wish their children to embody as they navigate life in a foreign environment. A participant (Onyedikachi, male 59) reaffirmed that Àzụ̀ńnà and Ùgòńnàyá reflect expectations that children will thrive and bring honour to their families despite the challenges of diaspora existence. A recurring theme in this category is lineage preservation, captured in Òbìèchìnà (May family not end) and Ámáẹ́chìnà (May lineage not go extinct). One of the participants justified the reason for bestowing names that express the diasporic Igbo expectations, thus:

For diasporic Igbo families, distance from the homeland often raises fears about cultural dilution and the weakening of genealogical ties. These names, therefore, express deep expectations that children will maintain, continue, and safeguard the family line, ensuring the survival of Igbo heritage across borders. Expectations connected to personal security and rightful ownership appear in Ńkèḿdị̀rị́ḿ which means, may mine be mine.

(Nnaemeka, male 62)

A name-giver (Onyeka, male 70) narrated that Ńkèḿdị̀rị́ḿ reflects parents’ desire for stability, protection, and fairness in the child’s future, values that are especially significant in diasporic contexts where migrants may face discrimination, precarity, or insecurity. Ńkèḿdị̀rị́ḿ articulates a wish for the child to enjoy what rightfully belongs to them, symbolising hope for a life free of displacement and deprivation. Also, Zím̄ìhè (Show me light) expresses the diasporic longing for guidance, illumination, and clarity. Living abroad often brings moral dilemmas and identity negotiations, and this name articulates a spiritual or metaphorical call to enlightenment (Amarachi, female 38). Zím̄ìhè reflects parental expectations that the coming of the child will bring clarity, wisdom, and purpose, avoiding the metaphorical darkness that can accompany diasporic struggles. These names illustrate how diasporic Igbo parents use naming as a future-oriented practice that encodes aspirations for prosperity, cultural continuity, honour, protection, and moral guidance.

5.5. Names That Convey the Diasporic Igbo Migration History

The names in this category encode individual and collective migration histories, illustrating how diasporic Igbo families use naming as a narrative tool for remembering, documenting, and interpreting their migration experiences. These names function as linguistic archives of the emotional, physical, and historical journeys that define diasporic life. They highlight issues of separation, survival, aspiration, good fortune, and the transformative significance of mobility.

A glimpse at

Table 5. Names that convey the diasporic Igbo migration history.

Names	Gloss
Òménàzụ́	One born in the absence of his father
Òbòdọ́má	Beautiful country
Ụ́zọ̀àmáká	Road is so good/the journey is good
Ụ́zọ́má	Good road
Ụ́zọ̀ńdụ̀	Road to life
Íhúàkụ̀	Face of wealth
Íhéúkwúmèrè	Great thing happened
Óbìlọ́	My heart is at rest
Ìhèńdụ̀	Light of life
Íhúọ́má	Goodluck

reveals names that tell stories or histories. For example, Òménàzụ́ means a child born in the absence of his father. The name, based on evidence from the research, references family separation, a common aspect of migration where one parent often relocates first in search of opportunities. The participants argued that Òménàzụ́ captures the emotional costs of migration, acknowledging the realities of fractured family structures while also celebrating the child as a symbol of continuity despite physical distance. Òménàzụ́ marks the family’s migration journey as part of the child’s identity from birth. Òbòdọ́má (Beautiful country) reflects a positive appraisal of the new land, suggesting that the destination country is viewed as favourable, safe, or promising (Akanwa, male 46). In the same vein, Íhúàkụ̀ (Face of wealth) encodes the belief that migration has opened doors to economic opportunities unavailable at home. These names capture the optimism and strategic motivations behind migration, indicating that diaspora is perceived as a gateway to prosperity.

The theme of journeying is prominent in names such as Ụ́zọ́má (Good Road), Ụ́zọ̀àmáká (Road is so good) and Ụ́zọ̀ńdụ̀ (Road of life). These names symbolise the migrant pathway as necessary, beneficial, and life-affirming. They index the cultural understanding of life as a journey where roads represent destiny, direction, and divine guidance. Diasporic parents affirm that their migration path is blessed, successful, or purposeful by naming a child after a “good road,” reinforcing positive interpretations of their displacement. Some names reflect the transformative or extraordinary nature of migration. A participant highlighted the significance of some names that convey the diasporic Igbo migration history as follows:

Íhéúkwúmèrè (Great thing happened) commemorates migration as a significant family milestone, an event that changed their socioeconomic status or life trajectory. This name immortalises migration as a turning point worthy of celebration and remembrance. Similarly, Ìhèńdụ̀ encodes the belief that migration has brought illumination, hope, or renewal, metaphorically casting it as a source of enlightenment.

(Ihechi, male 66)

Another participant (Okoro, 70) revealed that emotional stabilisation appears in names like Óbìlọ́, which express relief following the uncertainties of migration. According to him, Óbìlọ́ captures the psychological resolution migrants feel after achieving settlement, security, or stability abroad. Evidence from the research shows that names in Table 5 reveal their journey from anxiety to peace, a transition that is often central to migrant narratives. is an index of the unpredictable nature of migration, reflecting the belief that success abroad is tied to both effort and fortune. Naming a child Íhúọ́má celebrates the favourable outcomes of the family’s migration experience and expresses gratitude for divine protection and luck along the journey. Through this naming practice, migrants transform their life journeys into cultural memory, ensuring that future generations inherit not only the story of movement but also the values, struggles, and triumphs embedded in the family’s diasporic experience.

6. Discussion

The study adopts Bucholtz and Hall’s (2005) sociocultural theory of identity, which postulates that identity is negotiated through language use and social interactions, to investigate naming practices among the diasporic Igbo community, focusing on those living in the USA. Through the principles of emergence, positionality, indexicality, rationality, and partiality, this study shows that naming among the diasporic Igbo is a performative act that reflects the society’s cultural values, indexing identity, status, and reality for the person being named. Bucholtz and Hall (2005) assert that identities may be linguistically indexed through labels, linguistic structures, styles, and systems.

The study observed that the diasporic Igbo community bestows names to express feelings, communicate family values, show emotional connection to their homeland, convey expectations, and reflect their migration history. These findings align with Nwogu et al.’s (2024) view that names express a network of intercultural connections and communicate beliefs, historical antecedents, values, intentions, experiences, and cultural practices. From a sociocultural perspective, the findings reveal that names express emotions and construct identities that position individuals within their social environment, for instance, names in Table 1 index dependency on the supremacy of God in diaspora. From participants’ accounts, names reveal a strong forward-looking emotional orientation, in which children are seen as carriers of luck, prosperity, and the “good life” migrants seek abroad. Emotions reflect on people through their values, priorities, experiences, beliefs, and thought patterns, and play a triggering role in our orientation (Parkinson 2019).

The study’s evidence shows that diasporic Igbo preserve family/communal values through names. The names in Table 2 demonstrate how diasporic Igbo parents use naming as a positioning strategy to transmit cultural values that emphasise interconnectedness, communal belonging, shared responsibility, and the centrality of human relationships. The need for family continuity, children, and communal life/as reflected in the names bestowed on diaporic Igbo communities, as shown in the analysis. This position aligns with Mensah and Mekamgoum (2017), who argue that names reflect a society’s cultural values and moral codes. The participants reported adopting them for closure and emotional connection to their homeland. Table 3 presents names that portray how diasporic Igbo parents create an emotional connection to their homeland through personal identity. Despite geographical distance, names such as Nwáńnékà (Family is supreme) and Ụ́mūńnà (children of the father/brethren) function as symbolic anchors that link individuals to their cultural roots, kinship heritage, and collective memory. This result resonates with the sociocultural theory of identity (Bucholtz and Hall 2005), which holds that communicative acts shape and reveal the social identity, cultural realities, and sociocultural positioning of individuals and communities.

The adoption of names in Table 4 to express diasporic Igbo expectations reveals that names are indexical signs that serve as means of inculcating values and instilling aspirations in children. Through these expectations, parents not only envision their children’s future but also articulate the desire for the survival and flourishing of Igbo identity within the complexities of diaspora life (Nwankwere et al. 2017). Table 5 presents names that illustrate how diasporic Igbo families embed migration histories into personal identities. Based on interviews with the participants, histories are embedded in names, and names convey the diasporic Igbo history, serving as commemorative markers of separation, mobility, opportunity, transformation, and emotional resilience. This migration history is transmitted to the next generation through names. Culture is transmitted both in writing and orally, handed down through tradition (Michael and Ede 2019). Names convey the migration history of diasporic Igbo and their migrants’ journey, thereby preserving their cultural heritage and migration narratives.

7. Conclusions

This study focused on how diasporic Igbo families use naming practices as a socio-pragmatic resource for nurturing, expressing, and sustaining Igbo identity across borders. Drawing on Bucholtz and Hall’s (2005) sociocultural linguistic framework, the analysis demonstrates that names articulate belonging, negotiate cultural continuity, and embed communal memory within everyday life. The analysis reveals that diasporic Igbo names convey a wide range of meanings related to emotional experiences, family values, homeland nostalgia, future expectations, and migration histories. These names encapsulate the hopes, challenges, and narratives of displacement that shape the diasporic condition. They demonstrate how parents imprint their cultural values, aspirations, and personal experiences on their children’s identities, ensuring that their Igbo heritage remains visible and meaningful even in foreign sociocultural contexts.

The findings demonstrate that naming among the diasporic Igbo is deeply intentional and ideologically charged. At a surface level, the names used by diasporic Igbo are not entirely different from those used by Igbo families resident in Nigeria. Most of the names are well-established Igbo names that also occur in homeland contexts. This indicates that diasporic Igbo parents draw from the same cultural and linguistic repertoire as those at home. However, while the forms of the names may be similar, their functions, motivations, and ideological loadings differ significantly in diasporic contexts. Through names, migrants reconstruct communal ties, preserve lineage, assert cultural pride, and create emotional bridges between their present realities and ancestral roots. Naming, therefore, emerges as both a linguistic and cultural strategy for resisting assimilation pressures while affirming a transnational Igbo identity. The study contributes to sociolinguistic scholarship by highlighting the role of naming in identity construction within diasporic contexts. It underscores the need for further research on how African diasporas use language to maintain cultural continuity. The present study relies on the data collected from Igbo individuals living in the USA. Based on these findings, we affirm that for the Igbo in diaspora, names are not just labels; they are living narratives of identity, history, and hope. Further studies may be conducted to compare the naming patterns of the diasporic Igbo community in the USA with those of Igbo communities in Nigeria.