A Linguistic Appraisal of Igbo Anthroponyms

Abstract

Naming has many times been relegated to the background whenever a linguistic study is involved. It is assumed that names are mere referent therefore, are not useful in linguistic analysis. But, in actual sense, names are significant as they reflect on the social aspect of the society. Wakumelo, Mwanza & Mkandawire (2016:270) noted that “…names or odonyms are not just mere signposts, they reflect the social, political, and cultural ideologies maintained by the name givers”. In other words, names form a major part of the culture of any society and the Igbo people in particular in terms of their values, ideas, reflections, meanings and thoughts. Names identify, motivate and aspire the bearers. This paper discusses personal names among the Igbos of Nigeria and considers naming as an important aspect of the Igbo society. The paper looked at Igbo names within the purview of the grammatical categories. It was noted that Igbo names, like most names in Africa are mostly lexical, phrasal or compound with sentential underlying structures which make them unique and distinct from European personal names.