Contemporary Akan names with ancient/Egyptian origin
KOFI AYIM
| NAME | MEANING | AKAN/GHANA | |
| 1 | Adam | the feminine source; of the red earth | Odame (red as in akoko dame) |
| 2 | Asar or Asir (Greek’s Osiris) bird | bennu asar, mythical tree | Asare |
| 3 | Asari | a god of the Sumerians in Babylon which means “the strong one” | Asare |
| 4 | Nti | out of | Nti |
| 5 | Sefa | inundation | Sefa |
| 6 | Amen(u) also Ameny, short form of Amenemhe (i.e., Amun is in front) | to come; the coming one; hidden | Amenu |
| 7 | Khuti | the light; the shining ones, original name of Great Pyramid | Kuti |
| 8 | Nnu, Noe, Noah | celestial water; god of inundation (Ga Dangme) | Nnu |
| 9 | Kufu | a pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty | Akuffo |
| 10 | Anima | breath (soul) of life; spiritus mundi | Anima |
| 11 | Ammah | abode of peace in the spiritual world | Amma |
| 12 | Ma-Shu | goddess of truth, law, justice; shade; light | Musu |
| 13 | Dodo | a god/deity of ancient northern Israel | Dodo |
| 14 | Manu | of the earth; mount | Manu |
| 15 | Ankhu | a vizier; ever living, one eternal God | Anku |
| 16 | (T)seb | earthly (god) father; the number 5 | Tsebi (Ga Dangme) |
| 17 | Tutu | the son of the mother’s ancestral spirit; a protective god | Tutu |
| 18 | Ka | soul; the force of life | Kra |
| 19 | Nana | Great Mother; Babylonian goddess | Nana |
| 20 | Anuna | deities of Babylon; primordial water | Anona |
| 21 | Assa a.k.a. Tet-ka-Ra | a Fifth Dynasty Pharaoh/ ancient city | Asa |
| 22 | Mena | mystical woman; motherhood | Mena |
| 23 | Tete | to stand fixed to the ground | Tete |
| 24 | Aku | Oneness | Aku |
| 25 | Attaalla | Ataara | |
| 26 | Anu | the High One (God) of the Akkad | Adu |
| 27 | Sakar | spiritual god of the cemetery | Saka |
| 28 | Akhenaten = Amenhotep IV | Greeks called him Amenophis IV | Akenten |
| 29 | Abba | father (Hebrew) | Abba (Fanti girl born on Thursday) |
| 30 | Atum | god of solar fire | (Atumfuo) Otumfuo |
| 31 | Ghenna | the ancient Coenopolis, Ghana; north of River Niger | Ghana |
| 32 | Za/Sai[i] | title or mark of Abyssinian kings; ancient town | Sei/Osei |
| 33 | Assafu | a town of lower Egypt | Asafo (town names in present day Ghana) |
| 34 | Mamfi | the Egyptian name of Memphis | Mamfe (a town in Akuapem) |
| 35 | Tapa | the Egyptian name of Thebes (Luxor) | Tepa ( a town in Brong Ahafo) |
| 36 | Tkullo | an ancient Egyptian town | Kuro ( a town) |
| 38 | Aso | a mythical Ethiopian queen | Aso-a female name |
| 39 | Bethome | ancient Jewish city | Betom-a suburb in Koforidua |
| 40 | Arsaces | Persian kings of Abraham & Keturah descent built Parthian empire | Asaase |
| 41 | Apaneman | an ancient Jewish town | Apinaman – a town in Ghana |
| 42 | Mesore | the month of June/July named from rebirth of the summer solstice inundation | Mesore-to rise, to awaken |
| 43 | Tum (Atum) | the father of the sun god Aten | Tumi-authoritative power |
| 44 | Sen | Hebrew word for tooth | Se |
| 46 | Bimah | Hebrew for raised place in a synagogue | Bimah |
| 47 | Thmei | Thummim in Hebrew, goddess of truth and justice | Tumi |
| 48 | Bamah | (Nazarene, Hebrew) top of a hill; pillar | Bamah |
| 49 | Wu or wi | to mummify a dead body | Wu |
| 50 | Khentamentiu | funeral deity/god of Abydos, identified with Osiris | Kantamanto |
| 53 | Sa | the back, behind | Sa-behind |
| 54 | Mummy/mum | the dead | Amu-dead body |
| 55 | Te-ma/Tse-ma | accomplishing the truth | Te-ma = atinka |
| 56 | Mau or Miau | Cat | God (Dangme) |
| 57 | Makhu | balance, scales | Maku (Dangbe) |
| 58 | Arsamenes | son of a Persian king | Asamani |
| 61 | Khakeri | the throne of the Theban pharaoh Usirtasen III | Khakari |
| 62 | Tannur | a muddy stream in ancient Syria | Tano-a river in Ghana |
| 63 | Abiri | powerful stallions imported into Egypt from northern Syria during Thutmosis III (throne name is Menkheperre) time | Abiri |
| 64 | Ansar | a Sumerian god that means “the sky” or the spirit world of the sky | Ansa |
| 65 | Acco | an ancient city in northern Palestine | Ako (Ga Dangme) |
| 66 | Aye | one of the Amarna Pharaohs in the 18th Dynasty | Aye-an Akan/Guan name |
| 67 | Djary | a Theban military officer | Agyare-common Akan name |
| 68 | Pau | Egyptian, the self-existent | Apau |
| 69 | Haware | the Egyptian name of Ayaris, a city in the Delta; means “this place is far” | Haware in Akan means “this place is far” |
| 70 | Neferirkare Kakai | The former is the throne name called Prenoman; the latter the personal name of a 5th Dynasty pharaoh | Kakai – a mythical, fearsome one |
[i] This item presents a challenge. Sar in Hebrew means prince. (The feminine form is Sarai.) Thus, Sar has been rendered in some works as Zai, or Sei, from which Osei might have been derived. It is not, therefore, a coincidence that an appellation for Sei is Amene, a common title that prefixes or suffixes pharoahic names such as Amenemhet III of the 13th Dynasty. Such name structures typify a god that was worshiped by the pharaoh. Osman, Stranger in the Valley of the Kings, 35. The legendary king Osei Tutu of Asante was alleged to have been born under and through the spiritual guidance of the god Tutu.
The author/writer is the editor of Amandla.
Appendix 5 of the book: The Akan of Ghana. Aspects of Past and Present Practices by Kofi Ayim
Available @ Kofiayim.com OR @ THE SHOP, Osu, Accra, Ghana
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on Aug 11 2024. Filed under Artcultainment.
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