Ngwadom 1

Chiagoziem Ngwadom
UWRT 1103
Professor Raymond
14 July 2015
My Name is My Name
A name holds the power to shape a child's self-esteem and his identity and influence how
he's seen and treated by others. In the American culture, names are highly important and we take
pride and honor in our names in hopes that we will be remembered in the history books.
Likewise, the Nigerian culture upholds names to the highest form of honor and pride of state and
nationality.
My name is Chiagoziem Everest Chineylomugo Ngwadom. Nigeria is split mainly into
the Northern Islamic region and the Southern Catholic region. My family is Igbo, a tribe in
Southern Nigeria. It's tradition to be given a tribal Igbo name but ever since the imperialistic era
in Africa and the institutionalization of English influence, Christianity, more specifically,
Anglican and Catholic faith flourished over tribal beliefs. These factors both play into the
naming practices in our culture. My first name Chiagoziem means "God has blessed me." Ironic
that my name is atypical from even Nigerian standards because it is a variation of Chigozie. I
never really asked why I was given my name, rather, when I was younger I complained about
changing my name to something more pronounceable. As I got older though, I realized that my
mom and I had the same name. Well, not really the same name but at least the same meaning!
Her name is Ngozichukwu so that was maybe the reason I was named what I was.

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My middle name came from my grandmother's father's name, Everestus and my parents
decided to name me Everest. I personally still dislike the name, and I feel bad because iit means
so much to my mom's side of the family.
The name that I came conflicted the most with is the second middle name. I love the short
version of it, Chinelo, but I hate the full version. The name means "thought of the personal God."
Again, I never really asked why I was named that but it never was on my to-do list to find out.
Lastly, the only name my dad had a true part of contribution was my last name,
Ngwadom. It comes from a different dialect of the Igbo language that means "wisdom." It was
given to my grandfather after the role he played in fighting against the English trying to colonize
Nigeria through knowledge rather that pure war. After Nigeria won its independence, he was put
in as Eze, or Chief of the village. So basically I'm in line to be chief of the village of Amiri. So I
guess that's cool.
To the extent of my how far my life has come, my name is highly crucial in everything I
do. The introduction process has benefited me because it makes me unforgettable because an
attempt to say my name might result in a bit tongue and mental fatigue so "Chugs" sticks more. I
used to tell everyone to call me that because I was either embarrassed of my name or I didn't
have the patience my slowly I'm realizing that my name has power.
The world will struggle with unique, beautiful names like Lupita Nyong'o, Idris Elba,
Chiwetel Ejiofor and so on. But Orange is the New Black actress Uzo Aduba, who plays Crazy
Eyes, said something I felt was truly amazing. When asked about changing her name for her
acting career she responded with this: "No, and Ill tell you why. I had already gone through that.
My family is from Nigeria, and my full name is Uzoamaka, which means The road is good.
Quick lesson: My tribe is Igbo, and you name your kid something that tells your history and

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hopefully predicts your future. So anyway, in grade school, because my last name started with an
A, I was the first in roll call, and nobody ever knew how to pronounce it. So I went home and
asked my mother if I could be called Zoe. I remember she was cooking, and in her Nigerian
accent she said, Why? I said, Nobody can pronounce it. Without missing a beat, [Adubas
mother] said, If they can learn to say Tchaikovsky and Michelangelo and Dostoyevsky, they can
learn to say Uzoamaka." (The Huffington Post)
fm b Chiagoziem. In Igbo, this means my name is Chiagoziem.

Works Cited
"Why Uzo Aduba Refused To Change Her Name." The Huffington Post. Web. 14 July
2015.

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