Thursday 28 March 2019

Oh, Nana. That's my name!


All about the amazing name Nana 
Many people in the US associate nana with music. How many songs have you heard with nana in it? Loads.

When Rhiana sings: Oh, na na.  
I respond: That’s my name. Instead of What;s my name? 



The name Nana may be exotic or grandparentish most of the world, but in Ghana, calling out the name Nana in a crowd will get a lot of heads turning in your direction.

When I first started writing I had to decide which name I’d use. Would I use my own or a pseudonym. I chose my own because I love it so much. I have three names – technically one is a title of sorts. Nana Araba Prah

In Ghana many people are named after the day they were born. We have lots of other names, too, but you'll find these to be the most common. Since I am a Fante by tribe I will share those, but many of the other tribes have similar names and the names can differ in spelling even within a tribe. Things change when you travel to the North of Ghana, though.

Day
Female
Male
Sunday
Esi
Kwesi
Monday
Adwoa
Kodwo
Tuesday
Araba / Abena
Kobina
Wednesday
Ekua
Kweku
Thursday
Aba / Yaa
Ekow / Yaw
Friday
Efua
Kofi
Saturday
Ama
Kwamena

With a population of 28 million you can see how things would get confusing when people have similar Ghanaian names. We have titles to help differentiate, especially when they are born on the same day in the same family. The title may also denote that the person was named after a family member.

There are many titles, but a couple are Nana and Maame for females and Uncle and Paapa for males.
Nana is common among both males and females.

So when it came to choosing my author name I went for the most simple and popular of my names. The one that everyone in the US called me when I lived there because they could pronounce it. Nana Prah. There are so many published authors from Ghana with the first name of Nanal. For those from the rest of the world the name may seem unique (unless talking about grandmothers) but it’s not. It is actually the title of royalty.

Some Nana authors that come to mind.

Nana Malone USA Today Bestselling Author


Nana Awere Damoah  Insightful



Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond Ghanaian Literature


Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah New York Times Bestselling Author



Nana Prah Awesome Me!

And I’m sure there are many more.

4 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. You have me blushing over here. Thank you!

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  3. Interesting! I hadn't thought of nana in songs but, yes, a nickname for grandmother was what I first thought when reading your name. It's neat to see which names are popular in different countries!

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