Swahili weekend

Hopefully this will be a series of posts during the weekend to talk about the quirks of the language. Today we shall talk about names and nicknames. Swahili speakers have created their own of names and nicknames that reflect the language.

Rahma = Rehema ----
Saeed/Said = Saidi or Chidi ----
Mohamed = Eddy (nickname not used in official documents) ----
Fatma = Fatuma (real name) or Tuma (nickname) ----
Aisha = Asha or Eshe ----
Nassor = Nassoro (real name) or Cholo (nickname) ----
Masood = Masudi or Masoodi ----
Abdullah = Dullah or Abdilahi or Abdi (nickname) ----
Thuwayba = Sweety (nickname) ----
Sheikha = Cheya (nickname) ----
Sharifa = Sherry (nickname) ----
Sulaiman = Slemani or Selemani ----
Peter = Peta or Peta boy (if young or you know this individual well)

Thanks for reading, let me know if I missed any.

March 25, 2017

3 Comments

daughterofAlbion

You appear to be listing diminutive forms of particular names, rather than nicknames. A nickname comments on a personal characteristic of a person - their appearance, personality or nationality - and is unrelated to their given name.
e.g. Ginger, Lefty, Swotty, Frenchie

Fascinating list of cognates and diminutives though!

March 25, 2017