Kofi 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 ...

masculine 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 ...

(such as the

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by the nickname Bono ( ), is an Irish singer-songwriter and activist. He is a founding member, the lead vocalist, and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Bono is known for his impassioned voca ...

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 ...

Akwamu The Akwamu Empire was a powerful Akan state that rose to prominence in the 17th century in what is now southeastern Ghana. According to oral tradition, the Akwamu traced their origins to the Twifo-Heman area, but the earliest historical records p ...

, Ashanti and 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 is given to a boy born on Friday. Traditionally in Ghana, a child would receive their Akan day name during their

Outdooring In Ghana, an Outdooring ( Ga: ''kpodziemo''; , Ewe language “vihehedego”) is the traditional naming ceremony for infants. Traditionally this ceremony occurs eight days after the child is born where parents bring their newborn "outdoors" and gi ...

, eight days after birth. According to

tradition, people born on particular days exhibit certain characteristics or attributes. Kofi has the appellation "Kyini", "Otuo" and "Ntiful" meaning "wanderer" and "traveller."

Origin and meaning of Kofi

In the Akan

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

, day names are known to be derived from deities. Kofi originated from Kwaofida and the Lord of life's home deity of the day

Friday Friday is the day of the week between Thursday and Saturday. In countries that adopt the traditional "Sunday-first" convention, it is the sixth day of the week. In countries adopting the ISO 8601-defined "Monday-first" convention, it is the fifth ...

. Males named Kofi are known to be adventurers and indecisive thus taking time to settle. They are highly motivated and competent.

Male variants of Kofi

Day names in

vary in spelling among the various Akan subgroups. The name is spelt Kofi by the

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 ...

, Ashanti,

and Fante subgroups. Other versions of Kofi are Fiifi and Yoofi.

Female version of Kofi

In the Akan culture and other local cultures in Ghana, day names come in pairs for

male Male (Planet symbols, symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or Egg cell, ovum, in the process of fertilisation. A male organism cannot sexual repro ...

s and females. The variant of the name used for a

female An organism's sex is female ( symbol: ♀) if it produces the ovum (egg cell), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete (sperm cell) during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females and ...

child born on Friday is Efua,

Afua Afua (, ) or Efua (, ) is an Akan day name traditionally given to girls born on a Friday; the equivalent male name is Kofi. Given name or day name * Afua Adwo Jectey Hesse, Ghanaian pædiatric surgeon and former president of the Medical Women' ...

Afia Afia is an Akan female given name among the Akan people (i.e. Ashanti, Akuapem, Akyem, Fante) in Ghana that means "born on Friday" in Akan language, following their day naming system. People born on particular days are supposed to exhibit the ch ...

Effie Effie is a feminine given name, sometimes a short form (hypocorism) of Efthymia (Greek: Ευθυμία), Eftychia (Greek: Ευτυχία), or Euphemia (Greek: Ευφημία). Notable people with the name include: Women * Effie Bancroft (1840� ...

Notable people with the name

Most

Ghanaian The Ghanaian people are a nation originating in the Gold Coast (region), Ghanaian Gold Coast. Ghanaians predominantly inhabit the Republic of Ghana and are the predominant cultural group and residents of Ghana, numbering 34 million people as of ...

children have their cultural day names in combination with their

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

names. Some notable people with such names are: *

Seth Kofi Obeng Lieutenant General Seth Kofi Obeng (born 26 January 1945) is a former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of the Ghana Armed Forces. He was once also the Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. He is also a special adviser on Afric ...

(born 1945), Chief of Defence Staff, Ghana *

Osei Kofi Tutu I Osei Kofi Tutu I ( – ) was one of the founders of the Ashanti Empire, assisted by Okomfo Anokye, his chief priest. He led an alliance of Ashanti people, Asante states against Denkyira, the regional hegemony, regional hegemon, defeating them at ...

(reigned c. 1675 / c. 1680 – c. 1717), one of the co-founders of the Empire of Ashanti *

John Kufuor John Kofi Agyekum Kufuor (born 8 December 1938) is a Ghanaian politician who served as the tenth president of Ghana from 2001 to 2009. He was the fifth chairperson of the African Union from 2007 to 2008 and his victory over John Atta Mills at t ...

(born 1938), second President of the

Fourth Republic of 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 t ...

(2001–2009) *

Kofi Abrefa Busia Kofi Abrefa Busia (11 July 1913 – 28 August 1978) was a Ghanaian political leader and academic who was Prime Minister of Ghana from 1969 to 1972. As a leader and prime minister, he helped to restore civilian government to the country follow ...

(1913–1978),

Prime Minister of Ghana The prime minister of Ghana was the head of government of Ghana from 1957 to 1960 and again from 1969 to 1972. History of the office The country's first leader and prime minister was Kwame Nkrumah Francis Kwame Nkrumah (, 21 Septemb ...

Enoch Kofi Adu Enoch Kofi Adu (born 14 September 1990) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Finnish Ykkösliiga club EIF. Club career Early career and Nice Born in Kumasi, Ghana, Adu started his professional career in 200 ...

(born 1990), Ghanaian footballer *

Kofi Adu Alexander Kofi Adu (born May 25, 1969), is originally from the Ashanti Region of Ghana but lived in a suburb in Accra Newtown called Asantewaa, also known as Agya Koo, is a Ghanaian actor and comedian. He is a very renowned kumawood actor and ha ...

(born 1969), Ghanaian comedian and actor * Kofi Amichia (born 1994), American football player *

Kofi Amponsah Kofi Amponsah (born 23 April 1978) is a Ghanaian former professional association football, footballer who played as a centre-back. Club career Amponsah was born in Accra, Ghana. He played domestically for Ghapoha Readers before spending ten yea ...

(born 1978), Ghanaian footballer *

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder a ...

(1938–2018), United Nations Secretary General * Kofi Ansah (1951–2014), Ghanaian fashion designer *

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

(born 1998), Ghanaian professional footballer *

Kofi Balmer Kofi Balmer (born 19 September 2000) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Motherwell. He has won caps for Northern Ireland up to under-21 level. Balmer made his debut in the NIFL Premiership with Ball ...

(born 2000), Northern Irish professional soccer player *

Kofi Burbridge Kofi Burbridge (September 22, 1961 – February 15, 2019) was an American keyboardist and flautist of the blues and blues rock group Tedeschi Trucks Band. Burbridge was a classically trained multi-instrumentalist who provided keyboards, organ, ...

(1961–2019), American musician *

Kofi Cockburn Kofi Mazeze Cockburn ( ; born 1 September 1999) is a Jamaican professional basketball player for the Hiroshima Dragonflies of the Japanese B.League. He played college basketball for the Illinois Fighting Illini. Early life Cockburn was born in ...

(born 1999), Jamaican basketball player *

Kofi Esaw Kofi Esaw is a Togolese politician and diplomat who has served in the government of Togo as Minister of Justice since 2013. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2008 to 2010 and subsequently served as diplomatic adviser to President Faure Gnassi ...

, Togolese politician and diplomat, Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2008 to 2010 and Minister of Justice since 2013 * Kofi Jantuah (born 1974), Ghanaian professional boxer *

Kofi Karikari Kofi Karikari (–) Cameron Duodu"Obituary of Beryl Karikari" ''The Guardian'', 5 March 2007. was the tenth King of the Ashanti Empire, and grandnephew of Kwaku Dua I, whose sudden death in April 1867 sparked internal strife about the successio ...

(c. 1837–1884), ninth Ashanti king (1867–1874) *

Kofi Kayiga Kofi Kayiga (born December 1943),
JamaicaArts.com. formerly ...

(born 1943), formerly known as Ricardo Wilkins,Jamaican-born artist *

Kofi Asante Ofori-Atta Aaron Eugene Kofi Asante Ofori-Atta, (12 December 1912 – July 1978) was a Ghanaian educator, lawyer and politician who served as the fourth Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana.Ernest Nee Pobee Sowah''Report of the Sowah Commission...'' Volum ...

(1912–1978), Ghanaian politician *

Kofi Amoah Prah Kofi Amoah Prah (born 20 December 1974 in Accra, Ghana) is a retired Ghanaian-German long jumper. He won the silver medal at the 1992 European Indoor Championships, finished seventh at the 1998 IAAF World Cup, eleventh at the 1998 European Cham ...

(born 1974) Ghanaian-born retired German long jumper *

Kofi Sarkodie Kofi Kwarteng Frempong Sarkodie (born March 22, 1991) is an American soccer player. Career Youth, college and amateur After graduating from the IMG Soccer Academy in 2008, Sarkodie attended the University of Akron. Sarkodie started in all ...

(born 1991), American Major League Soccer player * Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah ( Kofi Sarkodie-Mensah) (born 1981), Ghanaian-American professional wrestler with the ring name

Kofi Kingston Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah (born August 14, 1981) is a Ghanaian-born American professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Kofi ...

Kofi Siriboe Nana-Kofi Siriboe (born March 2, 1994) is an American actor and model. He is best known for his role as Ralph Angel Bordelon on the television series ''Queen Sugar'' (2016–2022). He has also appeared in films such as ''The Longshots'' (2008) a ...

(born 1994),

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

actor and model

References

{{Given name Akan given names Masculine given names

Origin and meaning of Kofi

Male variants of Kofi

Female version of Kofi

Notable people with the name

See also

References