Kofi was born on a Friday, Ama on a Saturday: how Akan day names work
Meet a Ghanaian called Kofi and you know one thing about him before he says a word: he was born on a Friday.
Among the Akan peoples of Ghana, the largest ethnic group in the country, every child receives a day name, known in Twi as the kradin, or soul name. It is given according to the day of the week on which the child was born, with a male and a female form for each day.
The seven days
The common Twi and Fante forms run like this. Sunday: Kwasi for boys, Akosua for girls. Monday: Kwadwo and Adwoa. Tuesday: Kwabena and Abena. Wednesday: Kwaku and Akua. Thursday: Yaw and Yaa. Friday: Kofi and Afua. Saturday: Kwame and Ama.
Spellings vary by region and dialect. Afua may be written Afia, Kwasi may be Kwesi, and Fante speakers use forms such as Kobina for Kwabena and Ekow for Kwaku.
Why the day matters
In Akan belief, each day has its own spirit and qualities, and a person’s day name connects them to that day’s character. Some names carry reputations: Kwaku is sometimes linked with cleverness, Yaw with courage. Parents often choose a second name, from a relative or a Christian or Muslim tradition, but the day name stays.
Famous day names
The system explains the names of many well-known Ghanaians. Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary-General, was born on Friday 8 April 1938, and his name says so. Yaa Asantewaa, the Queen Mother of Ejisu who led the 1900 war against the British, carried a Thursday name. The trickster of Akan folk tales, Kwaku Ananse, is a Wednesday spider.
Other Ghanaian systems
The Ewe of the Volta Region use a similar set of day names, such as Kofi, Kodzo and Komla for boys and Afi, Adzo and Ama for girls. The Ga have their own naming traditions, often based on birth order, twins and family names. Names also mark twins, the child after twins and children born in special circumstances.
Beyond Ghana
Day names travelled across the Atlantic with enslaved Africans. In Jamaica, names such as Cudjoe, a form of Kwadwo, and Quaco, a form of Kwaku, appear in historical records, and Cudjoe was the name of a famous Maroon leader.
Today many African Americans and Caribbean people with Ghanaian ancestry look up their day name when they visit Ghana, and some adopt one. It is the simplest possible entry into Akan culture: you only need a calendar.
Ask any Ghanaian classroom teacher and they will tell you the difficulty. In a class of forty, there may be six boys called Kwame, and each will answer to his surname.
