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LAST NAMESThe second part of a Ga name is always the father's or family name. That is the name chosen by the baby's father. This name is given at the formal Outdooring Ceremony. It may be used in the West as one's surname or their first name. This name tells which family a child belongs. It comes generally from a long list of ancestral names taken from the father's line of descent. Ancestral NamesMy hometown is Osu in Accra, Ghana, West Africa. Osu is divided into four sections called "Quarters." My Quarter is known as Kinkawe. My father's house is "Shia Agbo," which literally means "The Big House. My clan is made up of several families. I am from the Sempe Clan. If you use the family name "Addo" as an example of the African system of names, you can trace my lineage for many generations -- both in the past and into the future.
The next generation repeats the names from the first generation. Because I am the first born son, my name is "Adotey." My brother's name is "Adotei." My first born son is named "Kpakpo," and my daughter's name is "Aku." My brother's first son is also named "Kpakpo," and both of our second son's would be named "Akwei." The second generation repeats the names from the first generation. Therefore, the name of my first grandson will be "Adotey." By using this naming sytem, everyone can know the place of each child in the family. Even the child will know its own name before it is born. Here are some examples of names of people from other tribes:
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