Abstract
This study explores the semantics of naming practices emanating from the social, traditional, and cultural contexts surrounding the birth of children among the Urhobo people of Nigeria's Niger Delta region. Drawing from the field of onomastics, the study of names and naming, the research examines how the Urhobo use naming as a means of expressing joy, commemorating memorable events, processing trauma, asserting identity, and preserving collective memory. Urhobo culture and traditions transcend mere semantic representation by embedding profound meanings that reflect the community's history, values, beliefs, and social structures. The Urhobo naming system vividly encapsulates how names convey messages about identity, lineage, birth circumstances, gender, and shared experiences. The study analyses selected names given to children in response to specific socio-cultural experiences, highlighting the emotional, cultural, and political meanings embedded in them. Through qualitative data gathered from interviews, oral histories, and linguistic analysis, the research demonstrates how these names function as tools of social commentary and as markers of socio-political and cultural preservation. Ultimately, the paper contributes to broader discussions on gendered onomastics, colonial and postcolonial identity, and the role of linguistic practices in the Niger Delta, a resource-rich yet historically marginalized region of Nigeria.
