This blog area is the beginning of the online presence for “African”-surnames. As time and funding permits it will blossom into a full interactive website. For now, bear with me!
It has to do with families that go back to the trans-Atlantic slave trade and to this day, hold on to this vestige of Africa. Bobo, Congo, Cuffe (Kofi), Cumbo, Ebo (Ibo), Guinea, Mandingo, Mozingo, Quander, Senegal, and Wolfe (Wolof) are family names I am working with in the United States. Anybody familiar with Afro-Latin America–including Haiti and Brazil–knows that there are more than one hundred “African”-surnamed families in the Americas. Ask my co-investigators Professor Julio Tavares of the Universidade Federal Fluminense in Rio de Janeiro and Dean Darío Henao of the Universidad del Valle in Cali, Colombia. Dr. William Mina–note the last name–also of Colombia, is tremendously helpful with his sharing of first-hand knowledge. The Netherland Antilles, Suriname, the English-speaking Americas expand the family names even further.
This is an opportunity to share who and what you know about such “African” surnames. Write to me using this blog and let the world know what you know. If you want to remain anonymous, that’s ok.
“African” is always in quotation marks when I refer to the last names of people who have a surname that designates a place or an ethnic group. Slavers often guessed when they assumed where the African originated. Sometimes, it was the last point of departure, sometimes they were the enslaved of the African group who sold them to the Europeans. In some cases, the place of origin is certain, but more on that later. If you are a descendant of someone who survived the trans-Atlantic slave trade–or if you know someone with that background, I want to hear from you. Scroll to the bottom of the page and add your comments.
MY RESEARCH IN THIS AREA
As my research develops, I realize that naming goes beyond an “African” last name and includes all manner of naming that black people have in common.
Nicknames
Do you know Pookie, Ray Ray and them? Are you Pookie (regardless of how you spell your name)? I bet Michelle and Barack can tell me about you, Pookie!
This section of my research deals with nicknames that are commonly used by black folk, but often unknown to other groups. The ones I know are mostly in the English-speaking part of the United States, but I want you to tell me about those in Afro-Latin America, all of the Afro-Caribbean, the English-speaking countries of this hemisphere and outside of the United States like Jamaica, Trinidad, and Guyana. Cudjoes, speak to me! Where is Suki from? ♪Awww, sooky, sooky now!♪ The Dutch-speaking countries and territories of the Americas surely have their own. Scroll to the bottom of the page and add your comments.
Adopted and Legally Changed Names
Of interest to me are the famous and not so famous who, starting in the 1960s made a conscious effort to change their name to one that would associate them with Africa. I have in mind Amiri Baraka, Aminata Shakur, Toni Cade Bambara, Pablo Yoruba Guzmán, Molefi Kete Asante, Kojo Nnamdi. Who else? Add your comments by scrolling to the bottom of the page and writing in the Comments Section.
There are other parts of my research that have to do with naming, but this is enough for now. Now, unless I pay a lot more money, I can’t control the adds that you see!
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