dats so sweet! u r a good person!! keep it up!! well i don really know wat to tell ya but if u know somebody who is nigerian so dat d kids can relate to d person and pick up a few nigerian words. a trip to nigeria sounds ok too if u can afford it!!!

Hi vajinda, I really appreciate the fact that you have decided to help your African brother and sister. Meanwhile, there is a big problem here, because Okeke is an Igbo name (South East Nigeria) and Ayo and Odun are both yoruba names from South West Nigeria. I will advice you to sit your sister and brother down and ask them some few questions, I believe if most of these questions are answered, we will definitely have a head way.
Ask them these few questions.
(1) What are their father's full names?
(2) Where in particular in Nigeria, did their father hail from?
(3) Has their father or mum ever made mention of any part of Nigeria during conversation?
(4) Do they have any of their fathers pictures?
(5) What of their mother, is she still alive. If yes, she definitely needs to answer some few questions.

I believe if they could answer these few questions, we could have a head way.
Alternatively, I will also suggest that if you can afford their flight tickets to Nigeria, I am very sure if they come to Nigeria with their fathers picture(s), they will definitely find their root. I had seen couple of foreigners who came to Nigeria to seek for their lost father's family & homes and they were eventually lucky to get to their roots, courtesy NTA Newsline (a special programme on Nigerian Television Authority). I wish you a best of luck in your search.

Hello again
Thank you damy and kenflavor for your encouragement and advice. I appreciate the clarification over the regional and tribal differences in their names. Their mother is alive, and I should probably ask her as well for any details. So is it safe to assume that their father is Igbo if his name is Okeke?

Thanks so much again, I feel lucky to have found this online community.
Vajinda

HEY, IF THEIR FATHER'S LASTNAME IS OKEKE, THEN HE IS IGBO(SOUTH EAST NIGERIA) BUT THE CHILDREN ARE ANSWERING YORUBA NAMES SO I CAN'T FIGURE OUT THE CONNECTION WELL. ASK THEM VERY WELL OR ASK THEIR MOTHER. GO ARE DOING A GOOD JOB THOUGH..PEACE

Well done, Vajinda, for the work you are doing. As the other contributors have said, I think we need more information to be able to assist. Okeke (if that is the right spelling) is definitely Igbo. Although it is not unknown in Nigeria for people from one ethnic group to give their children names from another ethnic group, it is still necessary to clarify the situation here.

Just like Zimbabwe, Nigeria (and the Yorubas) has a very rich culture and your brother and sister will be proud to know their cultural heritage.

Regarding the meaning of the children's names. The names you have given are all shortened forms of several possible names. You are right, Ayo means joy; but the full name could be Ayodeji (my joy is doubled) or Ayodele (Joy has got home) etc. Bola is also a shortened form of several names: e.g Adebola (one who arrived to meet wealth), Bolaji (One who wakes up with wealth), Omobola (child born into wealth - often for girls) etc. Odun means 'year' or big landmark or occasion. So, Odun may have been born during a major occasion (e.g Christmas or New year). The interpretations given are literal and these names tend to lose some of their more profound meanings when you try to interprete them into english.

If you know the full names, we can give you the full meanings. Several books of Yoruba names and their meanings exist and there are web sites giving meanings of Yoruba names (although some that I have seen are not very accurate). If you do a search of 'yoruba names' you are likely to see some of them.

Have a nice day and give my regards to your brother and sister.

Maybe the father is and Igbo marying a yoruba woman. but is alright and fair and thanks to you my sister.I myself is an igbo and the meaning of "okeke" is a male child born on "eke" day which is the third day in igbo calendar(1-Afor, 2-nkwo, 3-eke and 4-orie) . and that is a person assume to be wealthy and graceful and aboundantly blessed.thanks for your help to our bros and sister.

Father's name: Okeke

Children's names: Ayo and Odun.

My guess?

Father is half Igbo half Yoruba or Igbo by blood Yoruba by birth. Or born in the east and raised/lived in the west.

Most likely the father is Igbo and mom is Yoruba.
It's usually not common for Igbo men married to Yoruba women to give the kids Yoruba first names but it could be that they were never really really married (if you know what I mean) or the mom started calling them by their middle names after the divorce as some divorced women married to men of other ethnicities do, out of spite.

meaning of Okeke

First some background.
There are 4 market days in Igbo culture and they are Eke,Orie (or Oye),Afor and Nkwo.
similar to days of the week.
and people are often named after the market days.
basically Okeke means a young man named after an eke day.
we also have Okonkwo,Okafor,Okorie or Okoye