Names as Heritage: Tracing Family and Community Identity Through Naming

Dear Colleagues,

Names and naming are fundamental aspects of human interaction. They convey a wide spectrum of information about every facet of human endeavors and allow for layers of meaning and lived experience to be codified and shared. This implies that naming enables people to make sense of the world they live in, given that identity is primarily (re)constructed and (re)negotiated in socio-discursive encounters with people. Alford (1988) [1] maintains that the primary function of names is to distinguish people, emphasize family continuity, and reflect cultural and cognitive conceptions of the self. Ultimately, names identify and individuate their bearers as social and cultural beings. Davies (2011) [2] conceptualizes naming as a family practice and a site for displaying family kinship and ancestry. Therefore, naming is significantly used to enunciate family identity and provide the tools for shaping relationships and understanding connections. When names resonate family history, they become an essential part of the community’s intangible heritage. De Pina-Cabral (1994) [3] reiterates that such names become markers of personal and ethnic identity and means of achieving personal strategic aims, situating their bearers within a well-defined socio-cultural system.

This Special Issue will showcase empirical and conceptual studies of personal names as heritage and products of the family and society in which they are given and used. Names have a lifetime association with their bearers (Blount 2015) [4] and are passed down from one generation to another. Names embody a people’s cultural values, norms, philosophies, and worldviews. They are, therefore, carriers of resonances of social history, cultural heritage, and identity. They also function in distinguishing gender categories, as some traditional gendered scripts are inscribed in naming traditions. Certain family names are assigned to bearers in order to reinforce power and dominance, redefine or theorize the concept of home, and prescribe strict behavioral codes for a particular gender in some African contexts. Family names may also be useful for expressing the name-giver’s subjectivities and social enterprise. They make bold statements about the local socioeconomic condition of the name-giver, psychological satisfaction in marriage, security of family inheritance, and continuity of family lineage, and equally demonstrate the strength of the kinship network. Some family names highlight the qualities that name-bearers should embody or which they might grow up to epitomize in an attempt to draw a positive impact on their lives. Other family names are used to develop profound relationship with nature, such as the adoption of names of plants, animals, and topographies as personal names. Such names represent the name-giver’s commitment to protecting and preserving the environment because they serve to create awareness and provide education about environmental sustainability (Mensah 2025) [5].

The scope of this Special Issue covers naming as an index of local and diasporic identities, namesake practices, surnames typology, and the role of translation in identity construction. Other thematic issues addressed in this Special Issue include the dynamics of theophoric names, naming and family continuity, naming in the era of globalization, shifting patterns of naming and identity (re)construction, naming as a source of family history, and naming and cultural preservation. This Special Issue holds significant importance for identity formation and cultural preservation through the lens of names, especially in an era where naming is increasingly becoming an indispensable system of identification. It will demonstrate how changing social dynamics are shaping contemporary naming practices and providing a framework for understanding family trajectories, social stratification, and cultural transmission. It is anticipated that such names and naming traditions will unearth ancestral connections, resonate family history, and promote cultural heritage and legacies. Naming fosters a sense of pride in the family/community social landscape and preserves its unique stories and history.

The goal of this Special Issue is to showcase original articles that address naming as an essential component of family genealogy, offering invaluable insights across a wide spectrum of anthroponomastic concerns. It will contribute new knowledge and enrich our understanding of naming and identity through family history as repository of cultural traditions. We especially welcome submissions with a cross-disciplinary bent that will make significant contributions to onomastic research in Africa and beyond.

Potential contributors are kindly requested to submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200–250 words summarizing their research. Please send it to the guest editor (eyoomensah@unical.edu.ng). Abstracts will be reviewed by the guest editor for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo a double-blind peer-review process.

References

1. Alford, R. Naming and Identity: A Cross-Cultural Study of Personal Naming Practices; HRAF Press: New Haven, CT, USA, 1988.
2. Davies, H. Sharing surnames: Children, family and kinship. Sociology 2011, 45, 554–569.
3. De Pina-Cabral, J. Persoanl identity and ethnic ambiguity: Naming practices among the Eurasians of Macao. Soc. Anthropol. 1994, 2, 115–132.
4. Blount, B. Personal Names. In Oxford Handbooks Online; Taylor, J., Ed.; Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK, 2015; pp. 616–633.
5. Mensah, E. Eco-cultural identity construction through personal naming practices: a socio-onomastic appraisal. Crit. Afr. Stud. 2025, 17, 207–222.

Prof. Dr. Eyo Mensah
Guest Editor

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