Talk:Naming customs of the Dagomba people

Dagbon_names/Temp -I'm adding text from a previously deleted page here, may be possible to integrate some of the text into this article
Mole-Dagombas frequently name their children in their local languages. Languages of Mole-Dagbon are mutually intelligible, and the orthography and orthoepy of names among its various tribes may differ, but their meaning and significance remain the same. These names are sometimes based on the circumstance at time of birth such as "family situation", "festival" or "nature of birth".

In other instances, ancestral names and shrine (or god names) are also given. Before the influence of organized religions most surnames were derived either from occupations - Machԑlԑ (blacksmith), Luŋa (drummer); or from geographical origin - Kulkulpaɣa, Modoo (Moshie land), less often from bodily attributes - Sabliga (dark skinned), Nuŋmaalana (Hemihypertrophic hand), etc. They became less heritable at the turn of the fifteenth century.

Origin of some Mole-Dagbon personal names are derived from interactions with other cultures. Names like Achiri, Dua and Kɔbina - based on Akan names, are common among Dagomba warrior folk. Arabic names or corrupt versions of Arabic names introduced by the Hausa and Mandens traders are the most common cross-cultural development of names that have taken root among the Mole-Dagombas. They include Ashԑtu, (Arabic: عائشة), Alaasani (Arabic: الحسن) and Mahamadu (Arabic: مُحَمَّد). In Ghana and Burkina Faso children are commonly given a "day name" which corresponds to the day of the week they were born; examples are Sibidow (Saturday) and Laamisi(Thursday). These day names are primarily of Arabic Origin via Hausa language.

Day names

 * Monday: Atani, Tani


 * Tuesday: Talaata


 * Wednesday: Laaba, Lariba


 * Thursday: Lamihi, Lamisi


 * Friday: Azima, Azindo


 * Saturday: Sibidoo, Sibri


 * Sunday: Lahari

Names derived from other cultures

 * Akan:


 * Arabic:


 * Hausa: