DOI: 10.36347/sjahss.2017.v05i07.004

Pages: 669-675

The purpose of this study was to assess the naming systems of the Meru community in relation to semantics of names. The survey was conducted in Mimi Division of Tharaka Nithi county in Kenya since there has been inadequate research done to date to explain the naming systems of the Meru community. The results of the study would answer the following research question; what system do the Meru people use in naming their children? A sample of seventy respondents comprising of fifty youths and twenty elders was selected since they would provide clear and accurate information on the naming systems and since they also represented all classes of people in the community. Structured interview was employed in order to garner clear and accurate information that was later used for data analysis. The research was guided by Critical Discourse Analysis and specifically followed Ruth Wodak’s Discourse historical approach to C.D.A the data for this research was purposefully sampled from Meru personal names that children are given after birth and a qualitative analysis of the data was done based on the research question, objectives and theoretical framework. The survey established that the Meru people have four naming systems, namely: Naming according to ones clan, Character of the child or his or her name sake, Age group names and names derived from ones “nyoni” The result of this study acted as a strong base for other social linguists who would aspire to study the naming systems of other Bantu tribes. The researcher recommended that the old men should explain to the youths and children the meaning of their names and the systems used in according them these names. Further, he recommends that other linguists conduct a research on morphology and phonology of the Meru names.