Popular Nigerian author and renowned feminist, Chimamanda Ngozi-Adichie, has revealed that she created ‘Chimamanda’ as a name for herself and not the name given to her by her parent.
She made this known in her recent interview when she was hosted by Ebuka Obi-Uchendu on Black Box Interview series on Bounce Radio.
The name, Chimamanda, is what the novelist is commonly called by her fans and has been popular among young ladies who see her as their beacon.
She said, “I made up the name; I invented the name Chimamanda. I created Chimamanda; my parents did not name me Chimamanda”.
Speaking on her real name, she said she was named after her mother as Ngozi Grace but she changed it when she reached the United State for her Degree.
Her words: “Growing up, I always felt that I was not Grace, that was my mother, and Ngozi felt too common to me. In primary school, I was Ngozi.
“Being Catholic, one of the joys of Catholicism is that you get to choose a name when you get confirmed. I thought of a name I could choose but the priest said it had to be the name of a saint.
“I already had this identity; I had a passport, driver’s license, bank account with that name. So, it was really about how I could hold on to that name but make it Igbo,” she added.