In Rome, slaves were given a single name by their owner. A slave who was freed might keep his or her slave name and adopt the former owner's name as a praenomen and nomen. As an example, one historian says that "a man named Publius Larcius freed a male slave named Nicia, who was then called Publius Larcius Nicia."[1]
Historian Harold Whetstone Johnston writes of instances in which a slave's former owner chose to ignore custom and simply chose a name for the freedman.[2]
"The slave master who owned us put his last name on us to denote that we were his property. So when you see a negro today who’s named Johnson, if you go back in his history you will find that his grandfather, or one of his forefathers, was owned by a white man who was named Johnson. My father didn’t know his last name. My father got his last name from his grandfather, and his grandfather got it from his grandfather, who got it from the slave master. The real names of our people were destroyed during slavery."[3]
The reality is that former slaves were free to choose their own names after they became free.[4] Many chose names like 'Freeman' to denote their new status, while others picked names of famous people or people they admired, such as US Presidents like George Washington.[5] Other commonly chosen names were 'Johnson', 'Brown' and 'Williams', which had been popular before emancipation. For a variety of reasons, perhaps 20% chose to continue using the name of their former owners.[6]
Nonetheless, a number of African Americans and Afro-Caribbeans have changed their names out of the belief that the names they were given at birth were slave names.
An individual's name change often coincides with a religious conversion (Muhammad Ali changed his name from Cassius Clay, Malcolm X from Malcolm Little, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar from Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr, and Louis Farrakhan changed his from Louis Eugene Walcott, for example)[7][8] or involvement with the black nationalist movement, in this later case usually adopting names of African origin (e.g., Amiri Baraka and Assata Shakur).[9]
Some organizations encourage African Americans to abandon their slave names. The Nation of Islam is perhaps the best-known of them. In his 1965 book, Message to the Blackman in America, Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad writes often of slave names. Some of his comments include:
"You must remember that slave-names will keep you a slave in the eyes of the civilized world today. You have seen, and recently, that Africa and Asia will not honor you or give you any respect as long as you are called by the white man's name."[10]
"You are still called by your slave-masters' names. By rights, by international rights, you belong to the white man of America. He knows that. You have never gotten out of the shackles of slavery. You are still in them."[11]
Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor stated in 2017 that she had changed her legal name to Magda Davitt, saying in an interview that she wished to be "free of the patriarchal slave names."[13] On her conversion to Islam in 2018, she adopted the Muslim name Shuhada' Sadaqat.[14]
^Message to the Blackman; Muhammad, Elijah; Chapter 24; seventhfam.com
^Muhammad, Elijah; Message to the Blackman; Chapter 34; seventhfam.com
^"NGUZO SABA (The Seven Principles)" From : US Organization website
^"Sinead O'Connor's mother 'ran a torture chamber'". The Independent. 2017-09-12. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
^"Sinead O'Connor (Shuhada Sadaqat): 'I'm rebuilding life' | The Point Of Everything". Retrieved 2019-10-25.
October 15, 2023
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Not to be confused with Slavic name A slave name is the personal name given by others to an enslaved person or a name inherited from enslaved ancestors Contents 1 Ancient Rome 2 African Americans 3 Other references 4 See also 5 ReferencesAncient Rome EditIn Rome slaves were given a single name by their owner A slave who was freed might keep his or her slave name and adopt the former owner s name as a praenomen and nomen As an example one historian says that a man named Publius Larcius freed a male slave named Nicia who was then called Publius Larcius Nicia 1 Historian Harold Whetstone Johnston writes of instances in which a slave s former owner chose to ignore custom and simply chose a name for the freedman 2 African Americans EditFurther information African American names There is a common misconception in the United States that African Americans derive their last names from the slave owners of their enslaved ancestors Malcolm X wrote The slave master who owned us put his last name on us to denote that we were his property So when you see a negro today who s named Johnson if you go back in his history you will find that his grandfather or one of his forefathers was owned by a white man who was named Johnson My father didn t know his last name My father got his last name from his grandfather and his grandfather got it from his grandfather who got it from the slave master The real names of our people were destroyed during slavery 3 The reality is that former slaves were free to choose their own names after they became free 4 Many chose names like Freeman to denote their new status while others picked names of famous people or people they admired such as US Presidents like George Washington 5 Other commonly chosen names were Johnson Brown and Williams which had been popular before emancipation For a variety of reasons perhaps 20 chose to continue using the name of their former owners 6 Nonetheless a number of African Americans and Afro Caribbeans have changed their names out of the belief that the names they were given at birth were slave names An individual s name change often coincides with a religious conversion Muhammad Ali changed his name from Cassius Clay Malcolm X from Malcolm Little Kareem Abdul Jabbar from Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr and Louis Farrakhan changed his from Louis Eugene Walcott for example 7 8 or involvement with the black nationalist movement in this later case usually adopting names of African origin e g Amiri Baraka and Assata Shakur 9 Some organizations encourage African Americans to abandon their slave names The Nation of Islam is perhaps the best known of them In his 1965 book Message to the Blackman in America Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad writes often of slave names Some of his comments include You must remember that slave names will keep you a slave in the eyes of the civilized world today You have seen and recently that Africa and Asia will not honor you or give you any respect as long as you are called by the white man s name 10 You are still called by your slave masters names By rights by international rights you belong to the white man of America He knows that You have never gotten out of the shackles of slavery You are still in them 11 The black nationalist US Organization also advocates for African Americans to change their slave names and adopt African names 12 Other references EditIrish singer Sinead O Connor stated in 2017 that she had changed her legal name to Magda Davitt saying in an interview that she wished to be free of the patriarchal slave names 13 On her conversion to Islam in 2018 she adopted the Muslim name Shuhada Sadaqat 14 See also EditNation of IslamReferences Edit Roman Nomenclature at vroma org Johnson Harold Whetstone Johnston Mary Names of Freedmen 1903 1932 forumromanum org Hey Black America Let s All Ditch Our Slave Names Medium Retrieved June 2 2022 Many African American last names hold weight of Black history NBC News Retrieved 19 September 2023 Tracing Your Roots Were Slaves Surnames Like Brands The Root Retrieved 19 September 2023 SURNAMES FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS FORMER SLAVES FamilyTree com Retrieved 19 September 2023 Louis Farrakhan Biography Database Biography com Retrieved 2011 10 20 Muhammad Ali Biography Database Biography com Retrieved 2011 10 20 Deburg William L Van Modern Black Nationalism From Marcus Garvey to Louis Farrakhan NYU Press 1997 p 269 ISBN 0 8147 8789 4 Message to the Blackman Muhammad Elijah Chapter 24 seventhfam com Muhammad Elijah Message to the Blackman Chapter 34 seventhfam com NGUZO SABA The Seven Principles From US Organization website Sinead O Connor s mother ran a torture chamber The Independent 2017 09 12 Retrieved 2019 10 25 Sinead O Connor Shuhada Sadaqat I m rebuilding life The Point Of Everything Retrieved 2019 10 25 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Slave name amp oldid 1176124064, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
