Afia is an

Akan Akan may refer to: People and languages *Akan people, an ethnic group in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire *Akan languages, a language group within the wider Central Tano languages *Kwa languages, a language group which includes Akan *Central Tano language ...

female given name among the

Akan people The Akan () people are a kwa languages, Kwa group living primarily in present-day Ghana and in parts of Ivory Coast and Togo in West Africa. The Akan speak languages within the Central Tano languages, Central Tano branch of the Potou–Tano la ...

(i.e. Ashanti,

Akuapem Akuapem may refer to: * Akuapem people, an ethnic group of Ghana * Akuapem dialect, their language * Akuapem Kingdom Akropong is a town in South Ghana and is the capital of the Akuapim North District, a district in the Eastern Region of South ...

Akyem The Akyem Kingdoms (also known as Greater Akyem, Akim, Great Akim, or Akan Grande) were prominent Akan people, Akan kingdoms in precolonial Ghana, consisting of the three related states of Akyem Abuakwa, Akyem Kotoku, and Akyem Bosome. Located in ...

, Fante) in

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

that means "born on Friday" in

Akan language Akan (), or Twi-Fante, is the most populous language of Ghana, and the principal native language of the Akan people, spoken over much of the southern half of Ghana. About 80% of Ghana's population speak Akan as a first or second language, and ...

, following their day naming system. People born on particular days are supposed to exhibit the characteristics, or attributes and philosophy, associated with the days. Afia has the appellation ''Baafi'', ''Nkosuo'', which means "wanderer" or "traveller".

Origin and meaning

In the

culture, day names are known to be derived from deities. Afia originates from Kwaofida, which means "Lord of life's home day". Those with this name are adventurers and indecisive, thus taking time to settle, and are highly motivated and competent.

Female variant of Afia

Day names in

have varying spellings, because of the various Akan subgroups. Each Akan subgroup has a similar or different spelling for the day name to other

subgroups. Afia is spelt thus by the

and Ashanti subgroups, while the Fante subgroup and spell it as Efua and Afua.

Male version of Afia

In the Akan culture and other local cultures in

, day names come in pairs for males and females. The variant of the name used for a male child born on Friday is

Kofi Kofi is an Akan people, Akan masculine given name among the Akan people (such as the Bono people, Bono, Akyem, Akwamu, Ashanti people, Ashanti and Fante people, Fante) in Ghana that is given to a boy born on Friday. Traditionally in Ghana, a child ...

, Fiifi and Fi.

Notable people called Afia

Most Ghanaian children have their cultural day names in combination with their English or Christian names. Some notable people with such names are: * Afia Charles (born 1992), sprinter representing Antigua and Barbuda *

Afia Masood Afia Masood (also Khan) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Meryl Fernandes. Afia appeared in five episodes between 29 December 2009 and 5 January 2010, and returned on 18 November 2010. This is Fernandes' ...

, fictional character in ''EastEnders'' *

Afia Nathaniel Afia Serena Nathaniel (born 1974) is an independent Pakistani filmmaker who works primarily as a writer, director, producer and editor. She is a graduate of the Film Division at the Columbia University School of the Arts (2006). Early life Af ...

(born before 1991), Pakistani filmmaker * Afia Pokua, Ghanaian media personality, known professionally as Vim Lady * Afia Salam, Pakistani journalist and media development specialist *

Afia Schwarzenegger Early life And Education Afia Schwarzenegger, also known as Valentina Nana Agyeiwaa (born 14 February 1982, Kumasi, Ghana) is a Ghanaian media personality who came into the spotlight in 2011 through the Afia Schwarzenegger TV comedy series. Sh ...

(born 1982), Ghanaian media personality * Afia Amankwaah Tamakloe, Ghanaian television and radio personality, journalist, and health advocate *

Moshik Afia Moshik Afia (; born 3 October 1974 as Moshe Efroni) is a popular Israeli singer who sings in the Mizrahi or Eastern Mediterranean style. He was born in Holon, Israel to Lebanese Jewish parents. Biography Moshik Afiia was born on 3 October, 197 ...

(born 1974), Israeli singer * Nura Afia (born 1993), a beauty vlogger

References

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