Names in southern Africa are both creative and revealing

IF HE IS in a tight spot, says Trouble Kalua, people mention his name, asking, “What do you expect?” Shortly before his birth in Malawi, his father had lost his job as a bus conductor, impoverishing the family. Then the baby nearly died. “This boy is trouble,” his father said. “His name is Trouble.”

Across Africa names can have a story behind them. Yewande, for instance, is a Yoruba name meaning “mother has paid me a visit”, given when an older female relative dies just before a girl is born. Kiptanui may hint at a difficult birth for mothers who speak one of the Kalenjin group of languages in Kenya.

But southern Africa stands out for nominative creativity, at least when it comes to English names. Ask Zimbabweans about their school friends and you will hear an eclectic register: Lovemore, Hopewell, Innocence, Tedious, Patience, Knowledge, Fortune, Brilliant, God Knows. A Malawian (himself Golden) lists friends named Goodfriday, Wisdom, Iron and BoyBoy.

Names illuminate power and oppression. Under apartheid in South Africa many black people took on English names, some under pressure from bosses too lazy to pronounce their real ones; others to avoid standing out in a system designed to strip black people of their history, dignity and identity. In his memoir, “Born A Crime”, Trevor Noah, a comedian, says that since...