Kwabena is an

Akan Akan may refer to: People and languages *Akan people, an ethnic group in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire *Akan language, a language spoken by the Akan people *Kwa languages, a language group which includes Akan *Central Tano languages, a language group w ...

masculine given name among the

Akan people The Akan () people live primarily in present-day Ghana and Ivory Coast in West Africa. The Akan language (also known as ''Twi/Fante'') are a group of dialects within the Central Tano branch of the Potou–Tano subfamily of the Niger–Congo ...

(i.e. Ashanti, Akuapem,

Akyem The Akyem are an Akan people. The term Akyem (Akem, Akim or Aki) is used to describe a group of four states: Asante Akyem, Akyem Abuakwa, Akyem Kotoku and Akyem Bosome. These nations are located primarily in the eastern region in south Ghana. ...

, Fante) in

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

that means "born on a Tuesday" in

Akan language Akan () is a Central Tano language and the principal native language of the Akan people of Ghana, spoken over much of the southern half of Ghana. About 80% of Ghana's population can speak Akan, and about 44% of Ghanaians are native speakers. I ...

, following their day naming system. People born on particular days are supposed to exhibit the characteristics or attributes and philosophy, associated with the days. Kwabena has the appellation Ogyam or Ebo meaning friendliness. Thus, males named Kwabena are supposed to be friendly.

Origin and meaning

In the

culture, day names are known to be derived from deities.{{Cite journal, last=Konadu, first=Kwasi, date=2012, title=The Calendrical Factor in Akan History, journal=International Journal of African Historical Studies, volume=45, pages=217–246 Kwabena originated from Koyabeneda and the Lord of Life’s Land Day. Males named Kwabena are known to be brave and considered as manly "obarima". They tend to be very smart, nurturing and achieve a balance between strength and compassion "ogyam"(brave).

Male variants

Day names in

vary in spelling among the various

subgroups. The name is spelt Kwabena by the Akuapem and Ashanti subgroups while the Fante subgroup spell it as Kobina, Ebo and Kwamena.

Female version

In the

culture and other local cultures in

, day names come in pairs for males and females. The variant of the name used for a female child born on Tuesday is Abena.

Notable people with the name

Most

Ghanaian Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...

children have their cultural day names in combination with their English or Christian names. Some notable people with such names are: * Kwabena Agouda (born 1985), Ghanaian football (soccer) striker *

Kwabena Bediako Daniel Kwabena Dakwa Bediako is a Ghanaian-British chemist. He is currently Assistant Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and is the Cupola Era Professor in the College of Chemistry. His research considers charge transport and in ...

(born 1986), African-American chemist * Kwabena Joetex Asamoah Frimpong, Ghanaian football (soccer) player *

Kwabena Darko Kwabena Darko (born 23 October 1942) is an entrepreneur, minister of religion and former politician. He owns the largest privately owned agro-industrial concern in Ghana and is listed in “Who’s Who in World Poultry”. Darko is also known by m ...

, Ghanaian businessman and politician *

Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng (born 1949) is a Ghanaian physician and cardiothoracic surgeon who established the National Cardiothoracic Center and the Ghana Red Cross Society. He is also the president of the Ghana Heart Foundation and was the chie ...

, Ghanaian cardiovascular surgeon *

J. H. Kwabena Nketia Joseph Hanson Kwabena Nketia (22 June 1921 – 13 March 2019) was a Ghanaian ethnomusicologist and composer. Considered Africa's premier musicologist, during his lifetime, he was called a "living legend" and "easily the most published and best ...

(1921–2019), Ghanaian ethnomusicologist and composer * Roi Kwabena (1956–2008), Trinidadian cultural anthropologist *

William Kwabena Tiero William Kwabena Tiero (born 3 December 1980) is a former Ghanaian football player who played as a midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up ...

(born 1980), Ghanaian football player *

Kwabena Boahen Kwabena Adu Boahen is a Professor of Bioengineering and Electrical Engineering at Stanford University. He previously taught at the University of Pennsylvania. Education and early life Kwabena Boahen was born on September 22, 1964, in Accra, Ghan ...

, Ghanaian-American professor of bioengineering at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

* Dylan Kwabena Mills (born 1984), better known

Dizzee Rascal Dylan Kwabena Mills (born 18 September 1984), better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is a British MC and rapper. A pioneer of grime music, his work has also incorporated elements of UK garage, bassline, British hip hop, and R&B. Dizze ...

, British grime and hip-hop artist

References

Akan given names Masculine given names