i got several comments on a previous post where i mentioned that my gardener's name is Rolex. not really sure why someone would name their kid Rolex, but then again Georgia is a pretty strange name too. The thing is, in Africa, all names should have meanings. When i meet people for the first time they usually ask what my name means, and when i tell them its 'just a name' they seem slightly disappointed.
Some Malawian names are English: we have 3 loan officers named Gift, several Blessings', and a Happy. I know a minibus driver called Wonderful who goes by Marvellous. Others are Chichewa words: Tiyamike means 'grateful', Chimwemwe is the ultra-popular unisex name meaning 'happiness', Chisomo is 'grace' and Kondwani is another version of 'happiness'.
But the best are the classic misspellings and misunderstandings. Fyness (supposed to be "Finest') is actually the nicest person I've ever met. We have a client named Goodboy, whose loan officer is Lucky Banda. I also know a Casnover ( ie. Cassanova) and the other day a waiter named Hardon served me lunch.
and i thought Frank Zappa was strange for naming his daughter Dweezil.
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