What's in a Name?

What's in a Name?
by Carolyn Edgar

Image by Freepik

high five

Tyshaun weaved his way through the big crowd in the front of his fifth-grade classroom.
Everyone was gathered around the desk of the new kid, Oludemilade. Tyshaun cringed when
he heard his classmates pronouncing the boy's name.

"Olumeela- what?" said Kevin.

"Oluduhdela?" cackled Jackie.

"I can't say it," sighed Marisa, "so I'm going to call you John."

"Just call me Olu," the new boy responded.

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 What's in a Name?

"Settle down, everyone," Mr. Jacobs said, sending the students back to their seats.

Olu stared straight ahead with a blank expression, but Tyshaun could feel his frustration. At
the beginning of the school year, Tyshaun was the new kid in class. In fact, he was still getting
used to all the ways that Seatown Prep was different from his old school. For one thing, he
was the only Black student in the class... until Olu arrived. In fact, during his first weeks at
school he had heard similar comments from his new classmates.

"Tyshaun? What kind of made-up name is that?" said Jenna. "Can't I just call you Ty? Or
Shaun?"

"Nope," Tyshaun responded, "please call me by my right name." He felt proud of his name-
his whole name-so he spent a lot of time in the early weeks correcting his classmates. Now,
they pronounced his name properly. Still, it pained him to hear Olu dealing with the same
issue.

Later that morning, Mr. Jacobs divided the class into groups of two for a new social-studies
project. Each student had to interview his or her partner about family and culture, then make a
presentation together to the class.

Tyshaun suppressed an urge to roll his eyes when he saw who he was paired up with-of
course, the two Black kids were partners-but when he saw Olu's big grin, he changed his
mind.

"Hey - Oludemilade... right?" Tyshaun said, careful to pronounce the name the way he heard
Olu say it.

Olu smiled and responded, "That's right. But you can just call me Olu if you like."

"I like it when people say my whole name and don't cut it short to Ty or Shaun. But if you'd
rather be called Olu..."

"Yes, Olu is fine. Even my family calls me Olu most of the time. Do people really try to cut
your name short? Tyshaun is not a hard name to say."

"Neither is Oludemilade, if you take the time."

"Well, I know Oludemilade is a really long name to many Americans... but you're right," Olu
responded. "When I'm with other Nigerians, no one has a problem saying my name."

"Some people just have a hard time with names they're not used to, I guess," Tyshaun
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 What's in a Name?

replied. Then he was struck with an idea: "That's what we should do our group project on:
Names! Our names-how our parents named us and what our names mean."

"I like it!" Olu answered.

A week later, it was time for Tyshaun and Olu to present. Olu went first.

"Hello everybody, my name is Oludemilade-also known as Olu-and also known as The

New Kid, because no one knows how to say my name." The class laughed. "This is my
partner, Tyshaun, and today we want to talk about names-specifically, our names."

Tyshaun usually hated having to talk in front of the class, but Olu was a naturally gifted
speaker, and his poise helped to put his partner at ease. Tyshaun took a deep breath and
tried to match his partner's confident delivery.

"Olu and I have both heard that we have 'unusual' names. But in our cultures, they are just
regular names, so we decided to learn why our families gave them to us-and what they
mean. I interviewed Olu's parents and he interviewed mine."

Olu went first. "Tyshaun's parents explained that his name is a combination of two names-
his mother's, Tyeisha, and his father's, Deshaun. I thought that was cool."

Tyshaun's turn was next. "Olu's parents call him Olu, just like we do. But his dad told me that
his full name, Oludemilade-that's how it's pronounced, O-loo-deh-mee-LAH-day-is in the
Yoruba language spoken in Nigeria and it means 'God has crowned me.' Olu's full name, his
dad said, honors his family and their Yoruba culture."

As he spoke and listened to Olu, Tyshaun felt renewed pride in his name and African
American heritage, and in the Yoruba culture, too-one that he thought his own African
ancestors might have been part of. He hoped that his classmates would think their
presentation was as exciting as he did. He glanced around the classroom at his peers' faces,
but it was hard to tell what they were feeling. A few of them seemed to be paying attention, at
least, but as far as he could tell, most of the kids didn't seem to care much.

When Tyshaun spoke again, he tried not to let his classmates' lack of enthusiasm get him
down. "Olu and I really enjoyed learning more about our cultures through the stories of how
we got our names. We hope you'll share your naming stories with us someday, too," he
concluded.

"Well," Olu stage-whispered to Tyshaun on their way back to their seats, "let's see if people
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 What's in a Name?

start saying my name correctly now." The boys smirked and bumped fists, then turned their
attention to the next presentation.

As class ended, Olu and Tyshaun cleaned off their desks and put their things away, ready to
head to lunch. But when Tyshaun stood up to leave, he realized that Jenna and Marisa were
standing in front of him.

"You guys did a great job," Jenna said. "Tyshaun, I'm sorry-I can't believe that stupid thing I
said about your name. It's cool how your parents came up with it."

"And Olu, I'm sorry I said I would just call you John," Marisa added. "Your real name is way
more interesting."

Olu and Tyshaun broke out in big smiles. After Jenna and Marisa walked away, Olu gave his
friend a high five. "Yo-we make a great team, Tyshaun."

His pal responded, "That's the truth... Oludemilade!"

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 What's in a Name? - Comprehension Questions

Name: ___________________________________ Date: _______________

1. Why did Tyshaun cringe when he listened to his classmates at the beginning of the
story?

A. They talked too loudly to each other.

B. They pronounced Oludemilade's name wrong.
C. They called him Shaun instead of Tyshaun.
D. They ignored the new student in class.

2. When Tyshaun was new to the school, his classmates mispronounced his name.
How did he try to solve this problem?

A. He wrote his name in large letters on the blackboard every day.

B. He did a presentation on the cultural meaning of his name.
C. He spent a lot of time in the early weeks correcting his classmates.
D. He let people call him Ty or Shaun instead of calling him by his full name.

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 What's in a Name? - Comprehension Questions

3. Read the following sentences from the text.

"Olu and I have both heard that we have 'unusual' names. But in our cultures, they
are just regular names, so we decided to learn why our families gave them to us-
and what they mean. I interviewed Olu's parents and he interviewed mine.'

Olu went first. 'Tyshaun's parents explained that his name is a combination of two
names-his mother's, Tyeisha, and his father's, Deshaun. I thought that was cool.'

Tyshaun's turn was next. 'Olu's parents call him Olu, just like we do. But his dad told
me that his full name, Oludemilade-that's how it's pronounced, O-loo-deh-mee-
LAH-day-is in the Yoruba language spoken in Nigeria and it means 'God has
crowned me.' Olu's full name, his dad said, honors his family and their Yoruba
culture."

What conclusion can you draw from this evidence?

A. Tyshan and Oludemilade's parents did not have a lot of information about where their
names came from.
B. Tyshaun wanted to interview Oludemilade's parents again to find out more about
Nigeria.
C. Both Tyshaun and Oludemilade's names had important meanings that expressed
parts of their family and cultural history.
D. Oludemilade felt shy when speaking in front of the class and wanted Tyshaun to go
first.

4. How did Jenna and Marisa react to Tyshaun and Oludemilade's presentation?

A. Jenna and Marisa decided to share their own naming stories to try to get a better
grade.
B. Jenna and Marisa complimented the boys on the colorful posters they used in their
presentation.
C. Jenna and Marisa wanted to interview their parents to find out what their names
mean.
D. Jenna and Marisa apologized and complimented the boys on the interesting stories of
their names.

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 What's in a Name? - Comprehension Questions

5. What is one main theme of this story?

A. All students should work hard on school projects in order to get good grades and
impress their classmates.
B. It is important to respect people's names because they may have powerful cultural
and personal meanings to people.
C. Speaking up and answering questions in class will help people remember your name.
D. Teachers want everyone to be on time and participate during big class presentations.

6. Read the following sentences from the text.

"Olu's parents call him Olu, just like we do. But his dad told me that his full name,
Oludemilade-that's how it's pronounced, O-loo-deh-mee-LAH-day-is in the Yoruba
language spoken in Nigeria and it means 'God has crowned me.' Olu's full name, his
dad said, honors his family and their Yoruba culture."

As used in this sentence, what does the word "honors" most closely mean?

A. insults or hurts
B. surprises someone with
C. shows respect for
D. makes a joke about

7. Choose the answer that best completes the sentence below.

_______ Tyshaun and Olu headed to lunch, two of their classmates stopped them to
express their excitement about their presentations.

A. After
B. Before
C. Although
D. For example

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 What's in a Name? - Comprehension Questions

8. How does Tyshaun feel about his own name while listening to Oludemilade talk
during the presentation?

9. Describe how some of Tyshaun and Oludemilade's classmates grow and learn from
their naming presentation.

10. Why might saying someone's full name and pronouncing it correctly be important to
them? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.

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