Hello my fellow steemians

I'm glad to have you on my blog again. As regards the contest, I will be sharing with you all on a topic "What is in a name - local names, popular names and the act of naming" I am of both the Yoruba and Cross River origin. So I'll pick a few Yoruba and a few Efik names. Efik belongs to Calabar, Cross River State.

A NAME

Everyone needs a name. It is what is used to identify you and distinguish you from other people. I know that a name is very very important because my dad named me Oluwadamilola which means "God has given me wealth" or "God has blessed me with wealth". He said he gave me that name because truly things took a turn for him when I was born. My mum and grandma gave me me the name Blessing. When I was baptized I was named Jessica which means "Rich" or "God beholds". See? All my names are just streaming around one thing "God's blessings".

Some Popular MALE names in Yoruba and Efik

NAME	MEANING
Adekunle	Royalty fills the house
Olufemi	The Lord loves me
Oluwaferanmi	God loves me
Ubong	Glory
Etoro	Praise

Some Popular FAMALE Names in Yoruba and Efik

NAME	MEANING
Shade	Honor earns a crown
Folake	One who is taken care of with wealth
Bola	Wealth
AbasiIfreke	God doesn't forget
Ekom	Praise

Some Names I Admire in Yoruba and Efik

Below are some local Yoruba names I love and their meanings:

• OREOLUWA: A gift from God. It is a female name. This is my sister's name and I just really love it.
• TOLULOPE: This means Gratitude. It is a unisex name. It is my sister's name as well.
• OLUWAYEMISI: God honors me or God cherishes me. It is a female name. This is also my sister's name.
• AKINLEYE: Valor has glory. It is a male name.
• ADENIYI: The king/crown/royalty has value. It is a male name. This is my dad's name and I love to call him "A girl's king". I'm that girl. Hahaha

Below are some local Cross River names I love and their meanings:

• IMAOBONG: God's love
• MFONOBONG: God's goodness or grace
• IDARAOBONG: God's Joy
• EDIDIONG: Blessing. Again, this is my name.
• UWAKMFON: Abundant grace

I love all the names listed above because of the associated meanings. Whenever I'm down, I remember my name and it gives me nothing but pure joy that my parents chose this for me. It also encourages me in tough times to live up to my name, a "blessing" to humanity.

Some Names I Dislike

• Okon: Night
• Anansa: Goddess of the sea

Did You Give Yourself A Name?

No, I haven't given myself any new name. I absolutely love all the names given to me by my parents so I'll be sticking to those ones till the end.

How I Formed My Steemit Name

My steemit name is Pretydami. I believe I am pretty hahaha so I added my real name Dami to the pretty. I used one letter of "t" in pretty because the name "prettydami" was already taken by someone else. I have used this name since my high school days and I still love it.

CONCLUSION

People should not just be named anyhow but given meaningful names that will have a positive effect on their lives. Sometimes because of what parents were going through when a child was born, they decide to use the situation to name the child. This shouldn't be done as we may regret it later on in life. A name should be something that will give a child Hope and assurance that they're wanted and that their life is meaningful.

Thank you for staying with me till the end.

CC: @steemalive
Cc: @focusnow
Cc: @samuel20