What's in a name?

I was born in Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa. I am the first-born of two wonderful parents from the Igbo tribe in Southeastern Nigeria. In my culture, your name has great meaning. My given name is Ikenna. In my language the name means fathers strength. The word father could either mean your biological father or your spiritual father “God”. I’d like to think my father named me after both, but you can always ask him to confirm. The word Ike means strength and the word Nna means Strength.

 My last name is Ogbaa, which is short for Ogbamgba in my language. Ogbamgba means a “wrestler” or a “fighter”. My grandfather was a great wrestler and legendary warrior in my village in Umuchiakuma or Umuchi for short. My family name or surname was Ikpo but was later changed to Ogbaa in honor of my grandfather.

 Names are powerful and my name has defined me throughout my life. Think about the names Google, Amazon etc. What do those names mean to you? The name you give your child, product or business is a very important endeavor. There are several choices when it comes to creating a name. It can be descriptive i.e. names that describe the nature or function of an offering, associative i.e. names that suggest a certain benefit or attribute and/or evocative i.e. names with no apparent relationship to the product

The name can be a real word versus coined words. The name needs to be clear, logical, provide a feeling of assurance, positively connect with your audience and free of negative meanings or connotations. Next time you meet someone with an interesting name, take the time to ask them what it means!