Okoye is a
family name
In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community.
Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...
(
surname
In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community.
Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...
) originating in
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
. It is an
Anambra
Anambra State is a Nigerian state, located in the southeastern region of the country. The state was created on August 27, 1991. Anambra state is bounded by Delta State to the west, Imo State to the south, Enugu State to the east and Kogi Stat ...
dialect derived from the central
Igbo name
Igbo names are traditionally and historically constructed. In this convention there are no family names, instead one is known through their immediate male lineage.
In the olden days, Igbos - men and women - were named after the four market days ( ...
Okorie Okorie is a Nigerian surname of Igbo origin. The surname means "born on Orie" in Igbo, with Orie being one of the days of the Igbo week. Okorie is a Nigerian native name of the Igbo tribe, which represents a strong male son of the land, born on a pr ...
(meaning someone born on orie market day, or Oye market day as known in Anambra State).
Notable people with the name Okoye include:
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Amobi Okoye, Nigerian-American National Football League defensive tackle for the Chicago Bears
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Christian Okoye, Nigerian-American former National Football League running back for the Kansas City Chiefs
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Ebele Okoye, Nigerian painter
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Godfrey Okoye
Godfrey Mary Paul Okoye, C.S.Sp. (19 December 1913 – 17 March 1977) was a bishop of the Roman Catholic Church in Nigeria. He was the first Bishop of Port Harcourt, serving from 3 September 1961 to 7 March 1970. After leaving the diocese of Po ...
, Nigerian Catholic bishop
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Kelechi Okoye
Kelechi Okoye-Ahaneku (born 28 May 1984) is a Nigerian football player, who last played for Rangdajied United in the I-League 2nd Division in India.
International career
He was the Captain of the Nigeria national under-20 football team in 200 ...
, Nigerian professional football player
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Lawrence Okoye
Lawrence Okoye (born 6 October 1991) is a British track and field athlete and former American football defensive tackle. He is the British record holder in the discus event. Okoye became the first ever British athlete to win a medal in Discus ...
, British record holder in men's discus and National Football League defensive end for the
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...
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Nkeiru Okoye
Nkeiru Okoye (born July 18, 1972) is an American composer and musician. She has composed many works based on American history, including ''Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed That Line to Freedom, Invitation to a Die-In'' and "The Journey of Phillis W ...
(born 1972), African American composer
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Oge Okoye
Oge Okoye ( born 16 November 1980) is a Nigerian actress from Nnewi in Anambra State. Oge Okoye was born in London, and later moved to live in Lagos with her family. She completed her primary school in London before moving to Nigeria. Upon ret ...
, Nigerian actress
* Peter & Paul Okoye, former members of Nigerian Afro-beats group
P-Square
P-Square is a Nigerian music duo consisting of the twin brothers Peter Okoye and Paul Okoye. They produced and released their albums through Square Records (now Square Root Entertainment)
In December 2011, they signed a record deal with Akon's ...
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Sam Okoye
Sam Okoye (1 May 1980 – 31 August 2005) was a Nigerian football goalkeeper who represented Nigeria during the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship.
Death
Four months after his 25th birthday, whilst living in Tehran
Tehran (; fa, ته ...
, Nigerian former professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
player
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Samuel Okoye
Samuel Ejikeme Okoye (26 July 1939 – 18 November 2009) was a Nigerian astrophysicist from Amawbia in Anambra State, Nigeria. Okoye was the first black African to obtain a doctorate degree in Radio Astronomy.
Early life and education
Samuel Ok ...
, Nigerian astrophysicist
*
Stan Okoye
Stanley Onyekachukwu Okoye (born April 10, 1991) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player for Scafati Basket of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). A 6'6" swingman, he was named the 2012–13 Big South Conference Men's Basketball Player of ...
, Nigerian-American basketball player
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Ugo Okoye
Ugochukwu "Ugo" Okoye (born 13 September 1981) is a Nigerian former professional association football, footballer who played as a midfielder.
Career
Born in Anambra State, Okoye played in the United States for the Charleston Battery, scoring one ...
, Nigerian former professional football player
Igbo names