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Plenty of Americans of African descent have no idea where their ancestors came from thanks to that whole slavery thing. You're asking why black people didn't pi

by parfe 11y ago

Plenty of Americans of African descent have no idea where their ancestors came from thanks to that whole slavery thing. You're asking why black people didn't pick a random county in Africa, pick a random language from that country then choose a random name from any number of cultures speaking that language. Instead of what they did, which is draw from their own culture which is as old as America itself.

mc32 11y ago
Yes, I acknowledge the disconnection from their ancestry. However, descendants of black slaves in other countries (the US is not the only country with descendants of black slaves) have not followed the same route to new unique and identifying names. Moreover, you don't have to pick something randomly, you can look at names, read about their meanings and pick something that sounds nice to you. you don't do it in a vacuum. So, my question is why this alternative, vs, any other alternative at creating self identification? PS never mind that in some countries you can't just make up names. You can use foreign names, but you have to prove they are viable names in the place you claim them to be used names. But that's beside the point. And, of course, keep in mind, all names were somewhat "invented" and new at some point in time. My question is more about how/why did this method (of prefixes, among other unique qualities) predominate over other available methods? Also, curiously, many Africans with their ancestral surnames will have a European forename along with an African middle name.
- Zuider 11y ago
  The practice of having a European forename comes from contact with Christianity. It is customary in Christian baptism to take a name of a recognized saint. This naming convention has been a long tradition in Europe, making the names appear indigenous to that region, but in many cases these 'European' names actually originated in North Africa or the Middle East which had Christian populations before Europe did.
  - mc32 11y ago
    Yeah, it's true all biblically derived names are to one extent or another Middle Eastern or Mediterranean. It's so ingrained, it's easy to forget. It can be said that a great part of modern European thought is based on middle eastern philosophy --as well as ancient Greek philosophy. Of course some indigenous aspects survive despite the total immersion due to pervasive spread of religion throughout Europe.

by parfe 11y ago

mc32 11y ago

Yes, I acknowledge the disconnection from their ancestry. However, descendants of black slaves in other countries (the US is not the only country with descendants of black slaves) have not followed the same route to new unique and identifying names. Moreover, you don't have to pick something randomly, you can look at names, read about their meanings and pick something that sounds nice to you. you don't do it in a vacuum. So, my question is why this alternative, vs, any other alternative at creating self identification? PS never mind that in some countries you can't just make up names. You can use foreign names, but you have to prove they are viable names in the place you claim them to be used names. But that's beside the point. And, of course, keep in mind, all names were somewhat "invented" and new at some point in time. My question is more about how/why did this method (of prefixes, among other unique qualities) predominate over other available methods? Also, curiously, many Africans with their ancestral surnames will have a European forename along with an African middle name.

Zuider 11y ago
The practice of having a European forename comes from contact with Christianity. It is customary in Christian baptism to take a name of a recognized saint. This naming convention has been a long tradition in Europe, making the names appear indigenous to that region, but in many cases these 'European' names actually originated in North Africa or the Middle East which had Christian populations before Europe did.
- mc32 11y ago
  Yeah, it's true all biblically derived names are to one extent or another Middle Eastern or Mediterranean. It's so ingrained, it's easy to forget. It can be said that a great part of modern European thought is based on middle eastern philosophy --as well as ancient Greek philosophy. Of course some indigenous aspects survive despite the total immersion due to pervasive spread of religion throughout Europe.