Parents and Kids' Street Names

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LeSean McCoy, American NFL star and one of the SPEAK show panelists. He got his nickname
 'Shady' from his mother. We all have family nicknames. What's yours?

Kids change their names to be accepted by other kids on the block or school. It’s not uncommon for parents to open the door and find some boys looking for G-Man.

‘Nobody by that name. Sorry, wrong house.’

‘It’s O.K. mom. They are looking for me,’ says Grayson over his mother’s shoulder.

Sometimes it’s not intentional. Nicknames are prompted by what kids excel in, good or bad. Someone good in basketball might end up with a nickname like Point Guard. A schoolboy that likes girls might be baptized Smoothie by his age mates. Sometimes nicknames live forever. In some instances, owners grow up and discard them because they find them embarrassing. Kids with names that are not English shorten their names or shortened by other kids.

Yoruba names for example. It is one of the languages widely spoken in Nigeria and has been exposed to the world through musicians like Kizz Daniel. When a child is born, parents say: oluwa … which means god. That’s why names like Oluwaseun and Oluwafemi are common. Kids born in the U.S. end up being called Olu, or just Lu. Therefore, it’s not a nickname as such, just a short version of their Yoruba birth name.

Having said that, kids like changing their names because they can. Unlike Prince William’s son George, who is stuck with George till eternity. He can never call himself G-Man. Kids are very creative. Here are some samples:

Isaac becomes Izzy

Thulani becomes T-Za

Travis becomes T-Way

Duke becomes D-Man

Thomas becomes T-Boy


Nonqaba waka Msimang

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