Do you know that before slave trade, Yoruba don't bear surname as part of their own name? Before then, everybody bears his own name in a unique way.
Bearing ones father's or grand father's name as surname actually began when the British came to Nigeria,and father's name became mandatory to be added as surname during primary school registration.
Instead, yoruba name an individual child in a unique way that is never seen anywhere else in the world. It is a format of 3 names i.e ORÚKỌ ÀBÍSỌ(personal name), ORÍKÌ (epithet), ORÍLÈ (ancestral totem name). For instance, Adekola Ajani Ìkọ́ or Oladele Alabi Ọ̀kín. Let us look into each name identity and what it represents.
ORUKO ÀBÍSỌ: Oruko abiso is a personal name given to an individual based on family nobility or identity. ẹ.g royal families name their children with prefix like Ade or Oye, warriors name Akin, noble family name Ola, the family of Egungun worshipers name their children Ọ̀jẹ̀ etc
ORÍKÌ: Oriki is a personal name given to individual to be used to praise him or her, it is an epithet. ẹ.g Anike, Akande, Alake, Ajao etc Oriki is a personal pet name.
ORÍLẸ̀: Orílẹ̀ is the Oriki of the ancestral lineage of an individual's family, clan or race. The name is used to identify him or her with the family lineage and to praise such person as a true son or daughter of the family. With the totem name, one can easily trace a person to the source, the town where his forefathers originally came from
ORILE are represented by their own name, anyone bearing such name is traceable directly to the town where their family originally migrated from. For instance:
Ẹ̀rìnmòjé:- They are from Ẹrinle, Erin Osun, Erin Ijesha. Àwọn ni Erinmoje ọmọ sàádà.
Ẹwú:- They are from Ìkire or Ejigbo in Osun State. The two towns were founded by brothers. Àwọn lomo Ẹwú nínwìnrín ọmọ a dale gbogbo Yi wọn ká. Ẹwú nínwìnrín ọmọ adàlẹ́ gbin ewura. Ẹwú file hànmí fọ̀nà hànmí, ẹwú kò ní fabuja Ile
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