Kwame 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 ...

(such as the Ashanti and 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 ...

which is given to a boy born on Saturday. Traditionally in Ghana, a child would receive their Akan day name during their

Outdooring In Ghana, an Outdooring ( Ga: ''kpodziemo''; ak, abadinto) is the traditional naming ceremony for infants. Traditionally this ceremony occurs eight days after the child is born where parents bring their newborn "outdoors" for the first time and gi ...

, eight days after birth. According to Akan tradition, people born on particular days exhibit certain characteristics or attributes. Kwame has the appellation "Atoapoma" or "Oteanankannuro" meaning "combat ready." The day naming tradition in Ghana extends to folk characters such as

Anansi Anansi ( ; literally translates to ''spider'') is an Akan folktale character and the Akan God of Stories, Wisdom, Knowledge, and possibly creation. The form of a spider is the most common depiction of Anansi. He is also, sometimes considered to ...

and deities. Traditional Akan religion states that God created himself on Saturday and is therefore also named "Kwame".

Origin and meaning of Kwame

In the Akan culture, day names are derived from deities. Kwame originated from Koyame and the Akan day name God. The name Kwame means extremes in fortune, health and spirituality; versatile, idealistic and intuitive. Males named Kwame are reputed to be talented and good problem solvers.

Male variants of Kwame

Variant spellings include Kwamé, Kouamé, Kwami, Kwamena, and Kwamina, according to the various Akan subgroups. It is spelt Kwame by the Akuapem and Ashanti subgroups, while the Fante subgroup spell it as Kwamena or Kwamina.

Female version of Kwame

In the Akan culture and other local cultures in Ghana, day names come in pairs for males and females. The variant of the name used for a female child born on Saturday is Ama.

Notable people with the name

The most well-known bearer of the name was

Kwame Nkrumah Kwame Nkrumah (born 21 September 190927 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He was the first Prime Minister and President of Ghana, having led the Gold Coast to independence from Britain in 1957. An in ...

, President of Ghana and a founder of Pan-Africanism - mainly due to whom the name spread also to non-Ghanaians. People with this name include: *

Kwamé (American rapper) Kwamé Holland (born 28 March 1973) is an American rapper and record producer from Queens, New York. Starting as a rapper in the late 1980s, he later saw success as a producer. Biography In 1989, aged 16, Kwamé released his debut album, '' Kwa ...

Kwame (Australian rapper) Rich Kwame Amevor (born 6 September 1997) is an Australian rapper and record producer. He has released four EPs: ''Lesson Learned'' in 2017, ''Endless Conversations'' in 2018, ''Please, Get Home Safe'' in 2020 and ''Thatboykwame'' in 2022. Ea ...

Kwame Alexander Kwame Alexander (born August 21, 1968) is an American writer of poetry and children's fiction. His verse novel ''The Crossover'' won the 2015 Newbery Medal and was selected as an Honor book for the Coretta Scott King Award. Personal life and educ ...

, American author *

Kwame Anthony Appiah Kwame Akroma-Ampim Kusi Anthony Appiah ( ; born 8 May 1954) is a philosopher, cultural theorist, and novelist whose interests include political and moral theory, the philosophy of language and mind, and African intellectual history. Appiah wa ...

, a Ghanaian-British philosopher of semantics and racism *

Kwame Awuah Kwame Awuah (born December 2, 1995) is a Canadian professional soccer player. Club career Early career Awuah played for the Club Uruguary Toronto, Woodbridge Strikers, the Ontario provincial program and the Dante Alighieri varsity boys soccer ...

(born 1995), Canadian soccer player *

Kwame Brown Kwame Hasani Brown (born March 10, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player who spent 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Selected by the Washington Wizards in the 2001 NBA draft, Brown was the first No. ...

, American former basketball player *

Kwame R. Brown Kwame R. Brown (born October 13, 1970) is an American politician in Washington, D.C., who was an at-large member of the council from 2005 to 2011 and chairman of the Council of the District of Columbia from 2011 until his resignation in June 2012 ...

(born 1970), American politician *

Kwame Dawes Kwame Senu Neville Dawes (born 28 July 1962) is a Ghanaian poet, actor, editor, critic, musician, and former Louis Frye Scudder Professor of Liberal Arts at the University of South Carolina. He is now Professor of English at the University of N ...

, Ghanaian poet currently living in America, managing editor of the

Prairie Schooner ''Prairie Schooner'' is a literary magazine published quarterly at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln with the cooperation of UNL's English Department and the University of Nebraska Press. It is based in Lincoln, Nebraska and was first publish ...

literary journal *

Kwame Harris Kwame Harris (born March 15, 1982) is a Jamaican-born former American football player who was an offensive tackle for six seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Stanford Cardinal, when he won the Morris ...

(born 1982), former American football player *

Kwame Holman Kwame Holman is an American producer and correspondent associated with the ''PBS NewsHour'', as a producer and reporter for WTOC in Georgia, and, who also has held positions with several national organizations, including the American Civil Liberties ...

, American producer, correspondent, and congressional correspondent *

Kwame Kenyatta Kwame Kenyatta (March 15, 1956 – May 22, 2019) was an American politician. Kenyatta was an African-American who lived in Detroit, Michigan. He served on the Wayne County Commission and the Detroit Board of Education. Kenyatta also served on the ...

, an American politician *

Kwame Kilpatrick Kwame Malik Kilpatrick (born June 8, 1970) is an American former politician who served as the 72nd mayor of Detroit from 2002 to 2008. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously represented the 9th district in the Michigan House of Represen ...

, former mayor of Detroit, Michigan *

(originally Francis Nwia Kofi Ngonloma), a Ghanaian politician (and for a time Life President) and one of the founders of Pan-Africanism *

Kwame Raoul Kwame Raoul (, born September 30, 1964) is an American lawyer and politician who has been the 42nd Attorney General of Illinois since 2019. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Raoul represented the 13th district in the Illinois Senate fr ...

, Illinois Attorney General * Kwame Somburu (Paul Boutelle), an American socialist political activist * Kwame Tucker, a Bermudian cricketer * Kwame Ture (

Stokely Carmichael Kwame Ture (; born Stokely Standiford Churchill Carmichael; June 29, 1941November 15, 1998) was a prominent organizer in the civil rights movement in the United States and the global pan-African movement. Born in Trinidad, he grew up in the Unite ...

), a Trinidadian-American black activist and leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and the Black Panther Party *

Kwame Vaughn Kwame Donte Vaughn (born May 31, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for BC Astana of the Kazakhstan Basketball Championship and the VTB United League. He is a 1.91 m (6'3") tall point guard-shooting guard. He finished his college ...

(born 1990), American basketball player for

Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa ( he, מכבי חיפה) is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football ...

in the

Israeli Basketball National League Liga Leumit ( he, ליגה לאומית, lit. ''National League'') is the second tier level league of basketball competition in Israel. It is the league level that is below the first tier Israeli Basketball Premier League, Israeli Premier League ...

* Kwamena Bartels, a Ghanaian politician and former government minister of the

New Patriotic Party , logo = , colorcode = #132f7a , founder = , founded = 28 July 1992 , dissolved = , leader = Nana Akufo-Addo , chairman = Stephen Ayensu Ntim Stephen Ntim elected NPP National Chairman on fifth attempt http://www.gna.org.gh/1.2152672 ...

* Kwamena Ahwoi, a Ghanaian politician who served as Minister for Local Government and Rural Development from 1990 to 2001 and Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1997 * Kwamina Ropapa Mensah, a Ghanaian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays for

Nashville SC Nashville Soccer Club is a Major League Soccer team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The team began play in the league in 2020 as a continuation of the USL club of the same name and plays its home matches at Geodis Park. It is principally owned ...

in the

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

Osei Kwame Panyin Osei Kwame Panyin was the ruler of the Ashanti Empire from 1777 to 1801, holding the title of Asantehene. His reign was marred by uprisings, which would eventually lead to his suicide in 1803 to prevent an Ashanti civil war. Early life Osei Kwame ...

, eighteenth-century leader of the Ashanti Confederacy, in what is southern and central Ghana today *

Paul Kwame Nathaniel Paul Kwame (born 15 October 1997) is a Ghanaian professional Association football, footballer who plays as Defender (association football), defender for Liberty Professionals F.C., Liberty Professionals. Career Kwame started his caree ...

, Ghanaian footballer

References

Fictional character

Kwame (Captain Planet) ''Captain Planet and the Planeteers'' is an American animated environmentalist superhero television series created by Barbara Pyle and Ted Turner and developed by Pyle, Nicholas Boxer, Thom Beers, Andy Heyward, Robby London, Bob Forward and Ca ...

, a fictional character in the animated television series ''Captain Planet and the Planeteers'' * Kwame, a fictional character in British television series

I May Destroy You ''I May Destroy You'' is a British black comedy-drama television limited series created, written, co-directed, and executive produced by Michaela Coel for BBC One and HBO. The series is set in London with a predominantly Black British cast. ...

. {{given name Given names Ashanti given names Akan given names Masculine given names