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What do the names of the enslaved tell us?

Olaudah Equiano speaking about his time travelling to England for the first time after his enslavement around 1768.

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When I was on board this ship, my captain and master named me Gustavus Vasa. I at that time began to understand him a little, and refused to be called so, and told him as well as I could that I would be called Jacob; but he said I should not, and still called me Gustavus; and when I refused to answer to my new name, which at first I did, it gained me many a cuff; so at length I submitted, and by which I have been known ever since.

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Read the the whole of Equiano's work here

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Prelude - Once free, William Wells Brown was helped by an old man who fed, clothed and gave him a safe place to stay for a fortnight. Here, Wells Brown describes how he got his name.

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The kind friend that had taken me in was named Wells Brown. He was a devoted friend of the slave; but was very old, and not in the enjoyment of good health. After being by the fire awhile I found that my feet had been very much frozen. I was seized with a fever which threatened to confine me to my bed. But my Thompsonian friends soon raised me, treating me as kindly as if I had been one of their own children. I remained with them for twelve or fifteen days, during which time they made me some clothing, and the old gentleman purchased me a pair of boots. 

 

Before leaving this good Quaker friend, he inquired what my name was besides William. I told him that I had no other name. ‘Well,’ said he, ‘thee must have another name. Since thee has got out of slavery, thee has become a man, and men always have two names.’

I told him that he was the first man to extend the hand of friendship to me, and I would give him the privilege of naming me.

‘If I name thee,’ said he,  ’I shall call thee Wells Brown, after myself.’ 

‘But,’ says I, ‘I am not willing to lose my name of William. As it was taken from me once against my will. I am not willing to part with it again upon any terms.’

‘Then,’ said he,’ I will call thee William Wells Brown.’

‘So be it,’’ said I; and I have been known by that name ever since I left the house of my first white friend, Wells Brown.

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Read the whole of Wells Brown's work here

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What do the names of the enslaved tell us?

 

What does your name mean to you? Who gave you your name? Is there a story or a meaning behind it?

 

Those who were enslaved had names that were as personal to them as your name is to you. Lots had their real names ignored, banned, or changed by those who had enslaved them.

 

Enslavers would often not use the names of the people they had enslaved for many reasons. Sometimes it was because they could not/would not pronounce new sounding words, or because they did not want to see the people they had taken as people but as objects. Christian names were given to push Christianity on the enslaved, classical names were given to show off knowledge about ancient Greece and Rome.

 

This was to show the person that their previous identity had been taken from them. They were no longer who they once were.

 

It was also because their original names held no meaning for the enslavers.

 

Some enslavers in America would even name babies born into slavery, but mostly the enslaved were allowed to name their children themselves.[1]

 

African names declined over time. Those names were replaced with new names that were intended to demean, such as ‘Caesar,’ ‘Hercules,’ ‘Venus.’ It was fashionable at this time to be interested in ancient Rome and Greece. To give people names of Greek gods was a way of showing off your knowledge whilst also being disrespectful. The enslaved resisted these names, but over time, in America, those names became accepted.

 

Over time there was an increase in names linked with Christianity. Moses Roper is one example. Learn more about Moses Roper through the work of two Newcastle University educators, Dr. Fionnghuala Sweeney and Prof. Bruce Baker here

 

African names remained through the generations though the original meanings may be lost in time and the separation from Africa.

 

Names were given to strengthen family ties as it was known that families would be split up.[2] Names were a way to stay connected to families.

 

As Frederick Douglass shows, sometimes changes in names were a means to stay hidden from slave catchers once they had escaped. Once free he was advised to change his name from Frederick Bailey to Frederick Johnson.[3] Johnson later moved from New York to New Bedford, Massachusetts. There he found Johnson to be a common name, so to avoid confusion, changed it one last time, to Frederick Douglass.[4]

 

Naming was also a way of resistance and a way to claim independence. Once emancipated, people could then consider what they wanted to be called. Some like Olaudah Equiano cast off their names for their original names or ones they chose. Others like Booker T Washington staked a claim on their homes. Washington writes in Up From Slavery that it was when first in school and hearing a register being called that he realised he should have a surname like the rest of the class.[5] While waiting for his turn he decided on the Washington part. The ‘T’ came from the Italian name Taliaferro given to him by his mother, but not used.[6]

 

Others would choose names that would honour those who helped them. William Wells Brown chose the name Wells Brown as this was the name of the person who first helped him once he was finally free.

 

 

The fluidity of the names of many of the enslaved reveals a lot about the processes of enslavement and emancipation. It shows the racism that was built into the system of enslavement.

 

The obvious fact that so many African names were changed into many different forms shows the inherent racism in the process of enslavement.

 

 

An overview of this process is given in American Slavery by Peter Kolchin. The removal of names shows the absolute disregard and racism of the process of enslavement. We can also see the fluidity of names was also a means of self-actualisation and resistance by the newly emancipated.

 

African Names

 

African names decreased overtime. Many enslavers either did not care for, or refused to use, a person’s actual name.[7] This was one part of the depersonalisation of the enslavement process; This shows the taking away of a person’s identity. As we can see from Equiano, this allowed the kidnapper, sailor, and enslaver to disregard the person, their history, and their identity.

 

The loss of meaning in some African names that were still being used shows how a desire to hold onto identity remained despite being disregarded in the Americas. For example, names that signified the day of the week a person was born on, were still being used, however, the original meaning was sometimes lost over time.

 

The reclaiming of names of African origin shows that identity and culture could never totally be taken away. Equiano ends his ‘Interesting Narrative’ with his original name above the one given to him by the captain who he claims enslaved him (although it is believed that he was not taken from West Africa and there is only one instance where his original name is recorded). Gustavus Vassa was the name of a Swedish king from the 1500s.

 

One of the first to write about his experiences in enslavement and protest for its abolition, was Quobna Ottobah Cugoano. He was enslaved in 1770 in what is now Ghana. He was a member of the Fante. Enslaved and sold to Europeans, he was eventually brought to England, where he was baptised into the Christian faith and given the name John Stuart. This is another example of a European name, but this time one that was taken by Cugoano rather than enforced, therefore showing a different attitude towards names. However, when Cugoano published his Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil of Slavery in 1787, only his real name appears.

 

Classical names

 

There are a lot of enslaved names that refer to ancient Greece and Rome. On the one hand, this shows a fascination at that time amongst many with the ancient world. It also shows a tendency to mock the enslaved. The names given were often names we relate to strength and power. A brief search of some classical names in the Runaway Slave Database[8] shows how commonly these names were used.

 

Caesar, after Julius Caesar the Roman general and emperor (31 entries)

Pompey, second only to Caesar at this time in terms of power and prestige in Rome. (14 entries)

Hercules, Roman god, known for his strength. (2 entries)

Zeus

 

Some of George Washington's enslaved people were called Hercules, Posey, Neptune, Cupid.

 

 

In the US, these names would at times remain and were passed down by enslaved parents to their children, and like all families seeing in names a way of connecting family when the threat of separation was ever present.

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Self-actualisation

 

In an interview with BBC History Extra podcast interview, Runaway Slave Database creator Shaun Wallace spoke of running away as not just an act of rebellion but one of self-actualization[9]. In the Wells Brown story, we see this in action when he takes his surname. It is touching that the bond is made between the two men, but it is Wells Brown’s choice that makes this notable. It is his decision to take the name that is important. It is now his choice. A right denied him for so long, along with so many others by enslavement. Wells Brown had his first name taken from him at one point as it was the same name as his owner’s nephew. He says that this was one of the cruellest things ever done to him. He was known as Sanford, a name he hated as it had been forced on him.

 

 

Approaches / activities

 

  • Research the names William Wells Brown names had in his life. How and why was his name changed throughout his life?

  • Discussion around names, importance, why they change etc. then show them how different this was for the enslaved.

  • Look at the first paragraph of his narrative. What does Wells Brown talk about first? Enslavement and names. What does this tell us about the importance of names to Wells Brown.

 

 

 

[1] American Slavery pg. 45

[2] American Slavery pg. 46

[3] Gateway to Freedom pg. 3.

[4] Gateway to Freedom, pg. 4.

[5] Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington as accessed from https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/2376/pg2376-images.html on 25/03/23

[6] Taliaferro (2018) The Black Names Project. Available at: https://www.blacknamesproject.com/names/taliaferro (Accessed: March 25, 2023).

[7] African Slavery p 45

[8] https://runaways.gla.ac.uk/ various pages where the above names were placed in the search engine.

[9] https://open.spotify.com/episode/29siiMwVsm1EcGrqTW9zBv?si=6EYsXsJEQyC6_vNvHNavfw&utm_source=copy-link Shaun Wallace interview.

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