Fante People - Family Names

Family Names

One of the social contexts of names among the Akan, and the Fante, for that matter is that they are used as social tags to indicate personal and group identity. This is so with family names derived from the patrilineal clans of the fathers that are given to children. Each of the twelve patrilineal clans has its peculiar family names. It is thus possible to use one’s name to trace his/her patrilineal clan. Children who trace their genealogy to one patrilineal father may therefore share similar family names. Some typical family names include: Yankah, Osam, Aidoo etc. There have also been innovations as a result of westernisation, education and foreign religion. Multiple names have also developed out of this phenomenon. Also, some Fante names are translated literally into English and such anglicised names have come to stay as family names. One can argue that the Fantes living on the coast were the first to be in contact with the Europeans. It is therefore possible that the trend is a western influence. Examples of such anglicised transformational name are:

• Dua (lit tree/board) ---------------------> Woode
• Kuntu (blanket ) son of Kuntu -----------------> Blankson
• Kumi ba ( child of Kumi) ---------------------> Kumson or Koomson
• Akorɔma (hawk) ---------------------> Hawkson
• Nyameba ---------------------> Godson
• ɜbo (stone) ---------------------> Rockson

Accordingly, some family names can also be identified by the suffix, for example:

• -son as in Yawson
• -ful, as in Arkorful,
• -ney, as in Biney.

Otherwise, Fante (Akan) typological family names indicate various contexts. They may be circumstantial, manner of birth, theophorous, weird names, insinuating and proverbial names, gang and nicknames, status, occupational, professional, religious, matrimonial, and western names. There can be a combination of two or more of these typological names.