Penguin Books Blog: Meanings and Pronunciations in Who Fears Death
In my stories, there is much to a name.
In my first novel, Zahrah the Windseeker, I gave my main character the name "Zahrah" for many reasons. 1. The name is beautiful. 2. Zahrah is from the Northern part of her world and her world is based on Nigeria. The majority of people in Northern Nigeria are Hausa and Fulani (I am Igbo) and "Zahrah" is a Hausa name (Northern Nigeria is mainly Islamic). 3. I have a fondness for Northern Nigeria because my mother was born in the North (specifically in Jos, a city that used to be peaceful and is now sporadically problematic) and her first language was Hausa (English was her second and Igbo was her third). 4. Lastly, Zahrah means, "flower". Zahrah the Windseeker is a coming-of-age story and Zahrah lives in a technologically advanced floral world. It was perfect.
There is a web of stories connected to just about every name I choose for my characters. In Who Fears Death, this is no different. To begin with, all the names are from a part of Africa but it's the future, cultures have mixed, names have migrated.
The main character's name, "Onyesonwu", is an Igbo (Nigerian) name, which means "who fears death?" Her stepfather's last name is "Ogundimu", which is Yoruba (Nigerian). It's a name I've always loved. Plus Ogun is the Yoruba god of iron and Onyesonwu stepfather is a blacksmith. Her mother's name is "Najeeba", which is of Arabic origin but in this case a Sudanese name. "Binta", the name of one of Onyesowu's best friends, is a name from Sierra Leone. It means "with God"...
Read the rest here
In my first novel, Zahrah the Windseeker, I gave my main character the name "Zahrah" for many reasons. 1. The name is beautiful. 2. Zahrah is from the Northern part of her world and her world is based on Nigeria. The majority of people in Northern Nigeria are Hausa and Fulani (I am Igbo) and "Zahrah" is a Hausa name (Northern Nigeria is mainly Islamic). 3. I have a fondness for Northern Nigeria because my mother was born in the North (specifically in Jos, a city that used to be peaceful and is now sporadically problematic) and her first language was Hausa (English was her second and Igbo was her third). 4. Lastly, Zahrah means, "flower". Zahrah the Windseeker is a coming-of-age story and Zahrah lives in a technologically advanced floral world. It was perfect.
There is a web of stories connected to just about every name I choose for my characters. In Who Fears Death, this is no different. To begin with, all the names are from a part of Africa but it's the future, cultures have mixed, names have migrated.
The main character's name, "Onyesonwu", is an Igbo (Nigerian) name, which means "who fears death?" Her stepfather's last name is "Ogundimu", which is Yoruba (Nigerian). It's a name I've always loved. Plus Ogun is the Yoruba god of iron and Onyesonwu stepfather is a blacksmith. Her mother's name is "Najeeba", which is of Arabic origin but in this case a Sudanese name. "Binta", the name of one of Onyesowu's best friends, is a name from Sierra Leone. It means "with God"...
Read the rest here
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