This is a very important topic.

Why is it that oyinbos do not have African surnames and we do?

Imagine if I married a white women and all my children including the males married white children and their children did the same, by then they should all be white should they not. My grandson or great grandson from my sons should bear my surname assuming it is Okechuckwu.

Ok, what will Agbonlayor grandsons be called for instance.

Or is what I am saying not for real?

African (foreign) white names come from colonization . . .

A few white people have traced their roots back to places populated by black people, and as a result change their names promptly.

grandstar:

This is a very important topic.

Why is it that oyinbos do not have African surnames and we do?

Imagine if I married a white women and all my children including the males married white children and their children did the same, by then they should all be white should they not. My grandson or great grandson from my sons should bear my surname assuming it is Okechuckwu.

Ok, what will Agbonlayor grandsons be called for instance.

Or is what I am saying not for real?

the kind of ancestral lineage you're referring to, rarely happened between African men and white women back then. It was mainly white men marrying African women and having offspring with them. In the few instances where black man/white woman married and had kids together, more often than not, the black man would have a non-African last name eg in Britain.

Outside Africa, white masters impregnated black women, and white female/black male relationships were illegal.

In all instances, the children would bear their white father's surname. Even the slaves had their masters names most times.

For your own scenario as outlined here, you'd have to wait a few more decades or centuries before drawing conclusions.

Another angle to it is that off springs of the interracial marriages often look more 'black' than 'white" (e.g. black hair and not blonde) and thus you don't see them as being 'white'

poster, thanks for the topic, its about time we discussed something like this. Our people suffer from colonial mentality like fela said. There traditional names are not good enough for them, so they decide to change it into a "mordern" name. Nonsense. una don ever see oyinbo they bear akpan for last name before?

A few white people have traced their roots back to places populated by black people, and as a result change their names promptly.

ehn , na lie o, chei nairalanders who na don come with una false statements o.

Because many black people are walking around with theirs (white people's).

Incidentally I have white 2nd cousins who still have our name but unfortunately it's an English name.

Is Osaze Odemwinge balck or white? how come he has an African Name

This isnot a Topic, the reason you have a surname is because your parents have that name which they got from their parents which they got from their own parents too.
Thoes who have english name must at a time in their lineage had significant inetractions with foreign culture such that it influenced them strongly to adopt the new name,
OR
As in the case of slaves they have no recollection of their ancestral name and had to be called something and obviuosly the foreign name came in handy.
I dont see anything to be worried about here, the case to note is Africans called Damola at home who travelled abroad for 2 weeks and came back as Damian!!! I don't know if you all recall one Tesilimi Liasu that became Taslim Elias, That is what gives me concern for worry

btw, surnames are a relatively recent thing in Africa.

Una want make white people bear African surnames? Easy- have them do a legal name change, give them land in your village, or make sure all your descendants marry only whites and have their descendants never change their names.



Even whites change their last names periodically talkless blacks.

The other day for instance, I saw a professional on NTA, a Mr Majekodunmi and he looked white! Only that he had a Nigerian accent . Honestly speaking, the dude looked white.

By the way, did you know the lead actor in Jail Break is a quarter black. His father is half white/half black while his mum is fully white. But his father is of carribean descent and not African so I don't expect a name like Majekodunmi

They're not suffering from colonial mentality.

grandstar:

The other day for instance, I saw a professional on NTA, a Mr Majekodunmi and he looked white! Only that he had a Nigerian accent . Honestly speaking, the dude looked white.

By the way, did you know the lead actor in Jail Break is a quarter black. His father is half white/half black while his mum is fully white. But his father is of carribean descent and not African so I don't expect a name like Majekodunmi

"His father is of African-American, Jamaican, English, German, and Jewish descent; his mother is of Russian, French, Dutch, Syrian and Lebanese ancestry."

I. Sanda:

They're not suffering from colonial mentality.

Yep, your right, its colonial inferiority.

not actually. i know africas and indians who are not ashamed of their names. they change or shorten their names because americans/europeans have trouble pronouncing it.

i knew an indian boy who told me his name and i didnt understand him he told me to just call him an american.

i knew another boy who had a foriegn name he told it to me, i didnt understand him and he shortened it.

In the US for instance

besides, there are African names which have been anglicized eg Coffee/Cuffee/Cuiffee or something which I think was originally Ghanaian or central African.

Anyone looking for old African names in America should start from the southern states like Mississippi, not the northern areas where many of the whites immigrated from Europe within the last century or two.

And you're more likely to find place names that were originally African or native American, not people's names, since those change all the time.

In Africa, "whites" with African names are more likely to have intermarried with and diffused into the local population over time, so what you'd have are Africans with white surnames.

For them to remain white and keep their African names, they'd have to be a distinct community like the Afrikaners in south Africa, with a policy of segregation in order to maintain that whiteness.

Then Andrea Buttercup married Joe Gbangmye and dropped Buttercup, now what do you suppose she would be called? Dont even imagine they have a son who plays sports and he is a favorite for the sports commentator.

tpiah:


In the US for instance

besides, there are African names which have been anglicized eg [b]Coffee/Cuffee/Cuiffee [/b]or something which I think was originally Ghanaian or central African.

Anyone looking for old African names in America should start from the southern states like Mississippi, not the northern areas where many of the whites immigrated from Europe within the last century or two.

And you're more likely to find place names that were originally African or native American, not people's names, since those change all the time.

In Africa, "whites" with African names are more likely to have intermarried with and diffused into the local population over time, so what you'd have are Africans with white surnames.

For them to remain white and keep their African names, they'd have to be a distinct community like the Afrikaners in south Africa, with a policy of segregation in order to maintain that whiteness.

Kafui

your responses are astounding. The problem to some extent is probably the difficulty in pronouncing African names or some african names. Even some polish americans changed their names.