What’s in a Name?....Kenya Week 28: April 11-April 17

In Luo culture, the naming of a child is an important and yet strangely flexible process. Unlike American parents, Luo parents often wait days or even weeks before naming their baby. And while the first name is a traditionally Christian or “Western” name, the second name usually indicates the time, weather, or conditions of the child’s birth. Finally, the father’s name (in our context, the last name) is often overlooked and only used for official documents.

For example, a little boy born at noon time could be named something like Michael (Christian name) Ochieng (O for a boy, -chieng for “noon time”).

A baby girl born while it is raining could be named Vivianne (Western name) Akoth (A for a girl, -koth for rain)

My Luo name is Adhiambo. A for a girl, -dhiambo because I was born in the late afternoon.

The majority of children are named just along those lines. Don, Tony, Stephan, Joseph, Mercy, Faith, Camilla, Fenny, followed by Oluoch, Oriri, Odhiambo, Akinyi, Apiyo, Adongo, and so on and so forth.

Occasionally parents feel inspired by athletes, musicians, or world leaders and name their children Clinton, Regan, and countless Barak Obamas. Right alongside our great American presidents are their beautiful wives Hillary and Michelle. I haven’t met too many Georges or Lauras, but I try not to read too much into that.

Unfortunately some parents make drastically horrible decisions when it comes to naming their children. My (least) favorites have included Violence, Morphine, and Dotcom. Thankfully for Luo children, they mostly go by their Luo names, so they need not dwell on the cruel miscalculations of their families.

The final interesting realization I’ve come to concerning the Luo child naming process is the powerful flexibility of the whole ordeal. With hundreds of babies born at home each day in impoverished conditions, the practice of Birth Certificates, embroidered baby blankets, Birth Announcements remain foreign oddities. So a baby’s name often evolves and changes until something sticks. With that introduction to the beauty of Baby Naming here in Karungu, I want to introduce you to some of the beautiful babies born in the past months:

Kayla Adhiambo Remember little Rocky from Otati with jiggers? He’s now a big brother, again! Rocky’s mother delivered a tiny baby girl, at home, sometime at the end of February. At the time of this photo, Emily told me the baby’s name was Dotcom Akoth. “Dotcom?” I asked incredulously. I must have misunderstood! “Yes, Dotcom. Like from the internet.” Alright then...Dotcom...Poor thing.

Two weeks ago we followed up with Emily, Rocky, David, and Baby Dotcom. They had moved into a tiny mud hut that was previously the kitchen of a family member. Emily could no longer pay rent on the small home they’d lived in before and was forced to relay on the meager resources of her impoverished family. We had to do something to help. A single mother witih 3 small children in a mud hut will amostly definitely become reinfested with jiggers.

We discussed with the family and agreed to buy the metal roofing materials if the family came together to build the rest of the house. When we arrived on Monday morning with the roofing materials, a smiling Emily handed me her beautiful baby girl, introducing her as Kayla Adhiambo. When I asked what had happened to “Dotcom”, the rest of the family insisted that the baby’s new name is Kayla Adhiambo, as a sign of appreciation for the help.

Two weeks ago I was given chickens. This week, a namesake.

Fayol Ailleo
Steve the nurse and his gorgeous young wife Martha live two doors down from Amanda and me in the staff quarters. The newly married couple joyfully announced to us in November that Martha was pregnant and due sometime in April. Martha smiling told me that if that baby is a girl, she will name her Kayla. Two weeks ago Martha gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. Since Kayla was out of the question, they decided to name him after Amanda. Three day old Baby Ailleo was running quite a high fever and poor Amanda was nervous. But he’s doing well now and Martha, Steve, and Baby Ailleo are back home and happy!

Amanda and I laughed and rejoiced at the honor of both having babies named after us the same exact week!

Phanis Kayla Okoth
Lillian is a Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) Counselor at St. Camillus. People come to her to find out their HIV status, so she spends her days restoring hope and reassuring devastated patients. When I first met her in October I thought she looked pregnant. But I didn’t want to be rude, so I didn’t ask. So when the other nurses started joking with her that she looked pregnant, I was reassured. But Lillian stubbornly refused to admit she was pregnant for 3 more months, until it was undeniable. When she finally accepted that she was having her fifth baby, after years of not having a child, she jokingly told me she hopes it’s a girl so she can name her Kayla.

On April 10, 2010 Baby Kayla came into the world. Yes, within one week, there are now three Kaylas in Kenya.

Jerry Edward
Titus Okoth is an exemplary Community Health Volunteer in Otati. The bright, hard working 28 year old consistently goes above and beyond his duties as a volunteer to help mobilize the community and assist the most needy families. He’s well spoken, always smiling, and happy to be an integral part of improving his community. And he works tirelessly without any pay, in the afternoons after he’s tended his fields. It’s been a pleasure working with Titus throughout the project.

Titus’s beautiful wife gave birth to a big baby boy March 25, 2010. The proud father introduced me to his family this week and asked me if they could name their son after my father. I honestly did not believe him at first.

You want to do what? You really want to name your son after my father?
No, Kayla really can’t be a boy’s name. (And I already had two baby girls named after me this week.)
Well, it is my father’s 50th birthday this week, so the timing is perfect. And my father never had a son to carry on his name, so I’m honored! My father would be proud!
His name is Gerald Edward, but everyone calls him Jerry.

The rest of the afternoon, I proudly carried Baby Jerry in my arms. Happy Birthday Dad!