Kwame is an Akan 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
Akuapem,
Ashanti,
Akyem,
Bono 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 ...
which is given to a boy born on
Saturday. Traditionally in Ghana, a child would receive their Akan
day name during their
Outdooring, eight days after birth.
According to Akan tradition, people born on particular days exhibit certain characteristics or attributes.
Kwame has the appellation "Atoapoma" or "Oteanankannuro" meaning "combat ready".
The day naming tradition in Ghana extends to folk characters such as
Anansi and deities. Traditional Akan religion states that God created himself on Saturday and is therefore also named "Kwame".
Origin and meaning of Kwame
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 derived from deities.
Kwame originated from Koyame and the Akan day name God.
The name Kwame means extremes in fortune, health and spirituality; versatile, idealistic and intuitive.
Males named Kwame are reputed to be talented and good problem solvers.
Male variants of Kwame
Variant spellings include Kwamé, Kouamé, Kwami, Kwamena, and Kwamina, according to the various Akan subgroups.
It is spelt Kwame by the
Akuapem,
Akyem,
Bono and
Ashanti subgroups, while the
Fante subgroup spell it as Kwamena or Kwamina.
Female version of Kwame
In the Akan culture and other local cultures in Ghana, day names come in pairs for
males and
females.
The variant of the name used for a female child born on Saturday is
Ama.
Notable people with the name
The most well-known bearer of the name was
Kwame Nkrumah,
President of Ghana and a founder of
Pan-Africanism
Pan-Africanism is a nationalist movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all Indigenous peoples of Africa, indigenous peoples and diasporas of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atla ...
– mainly due to whom the name spread also to non-Ghanaians.
People with this name include:
*
Kwamé (American rapper)
*
Kwame (Australian rapper)
*
Kwame Alexander,
American author
*
Kwame Ampadu, Irish footballer
*
Kwame Anthony Appiah, a Ghanaian-
British philosopher of semantics and racism
*
Kwame Awuah (born 1995),
Canadian
Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
soccer player
*
Kwame Brown,
American former basketball player
*
Kwame R. Brown (born 1970), American politician
*
Kwame Dawes, Ghanaian poet currently living in America, managing editor of the
Prairie Schooner literary journal
*
Kwame Evans Jr. (born 2004), American basketball player
*
Kwame Harris (born 1982), former American football player
*
Kwame Holman, American producer, correspondent, and congressional correspondent
*
Kwame Kenyatta, an American politician
*
Kwame Kilpatrick, former mayor of Detroit, Michigan
*
Kwame Nkrumah (originally Francis Nwia Kofi Ngonloma), a Ghanaian politician (and for a time Life President) and one of the founders of Pan-Africanism
*
Kwame Onwuachi, American chef
*
Kwame Raoul, Illinois Attorney General
*
Kwame Somburu (Paul Boutelle), an American socialist political activist
*
Kwame Tucker, a Bermudian cricketer
*
Kwame Ture, an American civil rights activist
*
Kwame Vaughn (born 1990),
American basketball player for
Maccabi Haifa in the
Israeli Basketball National League
*
Kwamena Bartels, a Ghanaian politician and former government minister of the
New Patriotic Party
*
Kwamena Ahwoi, a Ghanaian politician who served as Minister for Local Government and Rural Development from 1990 to 2001 and Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1997
*
Kwamina Ropapa Mensah, a Ghanaian
footballer who plays for
Nashville SC in the
USL Championship
*
Osei Kwame Panyin, eighteenth-century leader of the Ashanti Confederacy, in what is southern and central Ghana today
*
Paul Kwame, Ghanaian footballer
References
Fictional character
*
Kwame (Captain Planet), a fictional character in the animated television series ''Captain Planet and the Planeteers''
* Kwame, a fictional character in British television series
I May Destroy You.
{{given name
Given names
Ashanti given names
Akan given names
Masculine given names