stonemasonn:
bloody lies, European first contact were people living at the coastline.

Afam4eva:

Those name are common specifically with Ijaw people of Rivers and Bayelsa state.

Those names came with colonialism. Some ethnic groups tend to romanticize the colonialist more than others.

RedboneSmith:


These names are as a result of very extensive contact with European traders, from the 16th century on. The European traders had a hard time pronouncing the native names of their Ijaw and Efik trade partners. So they either Europreanised their native names or gave them pure European aliases which stuck. Yellowe for instance was Europeanised from Iyala; Horsfall from Osifolo. Henshaw, Ephraim, Duke, Hogan, Cobham, etc all have native Efik equivalents which I don't remember offhand.

azmanaty02:

I have a friend from ur place. Her surname is Petgrave
Even upon that, her name is also an English name

codemaniacs:



your ancestors never sold slaves, they were never victims of slave trade, they are victims of colonialism, colonialism and slavery are two different things, only few nations in Africa experienced slavery, no country in west Africa experienced slavery.

in the year 2020, white people hate and kill black people.... Do you think that in the year 1600s, 1700s, 1900s they will trade and interact with black people peacefully without hatred, killing and war

RedboneSmith:


These names are as a result of very extensive contact with European traders, from the 16th century on. The European traders had a hard time pronouncing the native names of their Ijaw and Efik trade partners. So they either Europreanised their native names or gave them pure European aliases which stuck. Yellowe for instance was Europeanised from Iyala; Horsfall from Osifolo. Henshaw, Ephraim, Duke, Hogan, Cobham, etc all have native Efik equivalents which I don't remember offhand.

codemaniacs:


colonial mentality and self hate is what caused it.

just like MelesZenawi has said, they threw away their native names.

it has nothing to do with trade, as the br:itish were more interested in wiping off and subjugating the indigenous populations rather than helping them.



for lagos names, the british brought black brazilians and other people of African descent from the American continent to replace the indigenous lagos population. it could be the same with the ijaw, igbos and some people from south south.

even Samuel Ajayi Crowther was not Yoruba, the british just added ajayi to deceive the yorubas in lagos.

oneeast3:



So why is it that the oldest colleges established by British in the old eastern region were all in Onitsha?

fashrola:


Even Warmate, Pollyn, Reginald

Exmilitant:
The riverain people of rivers, delta and bayelsa were slaves enroute to the americas in the late seventeenth century they were freed by the british navy in the atlantic and dumped in those locations. The british gave them those names as means of identification. Overtime, a common language was developed among them. Bonny, calabari, engenni, nembe, brass, itsekiri, okrika, ogbia, and the ijaws. Although, some of them are outcast and renegades from igbos. Igbos calls them Olu.

lielbree:


My ancestors were never victims of slave trade. They were the ones selling sadly... they were products of tgeir time.

iykejackchree:

Outcast and renegades from Igbo,
Oga, stop talking rubbish na, the ijaw people have existed for centuries without any relationship with the Igbos, they don't have anything in common, go and Read the history of king jaja, that was the only time Igbo people had to engage the ijaw people.

etibaba:
Rivers and Bayelsa state have really funny names and surnames sha. Heineken, lyon, Manager, Suffernomore, Inspector, Advantage, not forgetting the chairman of a political party "Secondus".

oneeast3:



They probably passed through the Niger delta, but they first settled and established in Onitsha where they first built schools and churches.

MrOjay1:
I've noticed the for a long time now that many Rivers state indigenes bear westernized surnames like Blankson, Douglas, Perricosta, Souza, Graham, Peterson, McColumbus, etc.

I have seen indigenes of Rivers who bear the above listed surnames alongside other ones too numerous to mention.Was there any kind of foreign culture influx in Rivers State that influenced these surnames?? Or have they just been bearing these kind of surnames right from inception?

I need opinions on this.

codemaniacs:


your number 2 is more correct.. if it happened by your number 1 then our indigenous languages will have almost died by now and it would have given them confidence to build cities in those parts of Nigeria like they did in kenya, namibia and south Africa e.t.c.. instead they left us with zero infrastructure, zero city plans, zero universities e.t.c. until 1960 when we began building things on our own only for them to sponsor civil war and coups later.

MrOjay1:



i have always thought it was the yorubas(the ones living in Lagos) that first came in contact with the Europeans.

And the Europeans also lived long in YorubaLand(Lagos) before permeating other regions.

They stayed long enough in Lagos to establish the first mission school(Badagry and CMS)...so why weren't their surnames influenced?

UniportAgbero:



You seriously don't know what you're talking about.

Bonny, Okrika, Kalabari, Nembe, Itshekiri, and Brass long existed in the Niger Delta plains long before the advent of Slave trade and colonialism. nobody settled them anywhere.
It was in areas like Liberia, Sierrealone, and the west Indies that they settled former slaves.
Again, Niger Delta people weren't slaves, rather they facilitated the slave tribe by capturing people from tribes in the hinterland (inner forest areas) like igbo, bendel, etc and selling them off to the Europeans. They were the middle men in the whole slave trading economy.
for reference, read the story of King Jaja....

I rest my case

Junior66:

Where I served in Taraba also has people bearing more hilarious names. I have seen names like Clever, Honest, Costly, Mechanic, Abstain, Adviser, Tailor, Calculator, Andrawus, Jepson, Artillary, Bethuel, Charisma, Commando, consman, Increase, Nice, Activities etc. I get shocked each time I see these names.

codemaniacs:


colonial mentality and self hate is what caused it.

just like MelesZenawi has said, they threw away their native names.

it has nothing to do with trade, as the br:itish were more interested in wiping off and subjugating the indigenous populations rather than helping them.



for lagos names, the british brought black brazilians and other people of African descent from the American continent to replace the indigenous lagos population. it could be the same with the ijaw, igbos and some people from south south.

even Samuel Ajayi Crowther was not Yoruba, the british just added ajayi to deceive the yorubas in lagos.

RedboneSmith:


The first people who come in long and sustained contact with white people in most non-European countries always end up bearing the largest burden of cultural erosion from white people.

oneeast3:



DMGS, CKC and QRS are the oldest colleges in the old eastern region and they were all established by the British. It proves that the British settled more in Onitsha than Rivers state.

EdmundChidera:
You could have said ijaw tribes because Rivers state indigenes mostly use Igbo names.

Allen102:
Is it not your igbo brother odili who bring militants?

lielbree:
We bear such names because our forefathers traded with the Portuguese and British for centuries.

codemaniacs:


he was never Yoruba.

codemaniacs:

he was never Yoruba.