Kadance Doumbia, a junior political science major from Jacksonville, Florida, feels a sense of pride when he thinks about his last name, which carries a lineage that predates the birth of the United States.
Born into a Black American and Ivorian family, he views his name as an inheritance and a responsibility, believing that character, more than history, ultimately gives a surname its meaning. Originating from West Africa, the surname is commonly shared among Mandé-speaking citizens in Côte d’Ivoire and Mali.
“Knowing the origins of it, knowing that it’s not descended from slavery like most Black people in America, it definitely adds some pride to how I feel about it,” Doumbia said, while acknowledging the importance of defining one’s own cultural identity.
“You make your name rather than your name making you. It’s definitely more important to use your own identity around your name rather than it controlling who you are,” he continued.
Between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, Africans in the transatlantic slave trade and were assigned the surnames of the slaveholders or recorded in census documents without full identification. After President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, newly freed African Americans adopted surnames of their choosing.
For many descendants, the historical paper trail still remains fragmented.
According to a report published by the Pew Research Center, in the United States, a growing number of African Americans are researching, reclaiming and in some instances redefining their surnames. The movement reflects a personal reckoning and a broader cultural shift that seeks to confront the historical erasure caused by slavery while affirming Black identity on its own terms.
Salome Simmons, a sophomore biology major from Chicago, has many unanswered questions about the origin of her last name.
“I don’t really know much about my last name. From what I’ve seen it’s more common in white people. I don’t know where in my history it came from or what ancestry that indicates,” Simmons said.
In recent years, advances in genetic testing and digitized archives have opened new avenues for discovery. At the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Robert Frederick Smith Explore Your Family History Center offers in-person and virtual appointments to help visitors navigate genealogical research. Through digitized records, including those from the Freedman’s Bureau, families can search for information once buried in federal archives.
Individuals are also guided to research through genealogy databases like FamilySearch.org to aid in uncovering the truth behind one’s surname. The search is not solely for geography, but meaning.
Anderson Bookard, a freshman psychology major from Charlotte, North Carolina, was influenced by his father to find pride in his last name.
“My dad, he tells me that my last name is ‘Bookard,’ which means I can overcome anything,” Bookard said.
The surname originates from Germany as an alternate version of the name “Burkhard”. Containing early Germanic roots, “Hard” is attributed to bravery and “Burk” is known as a castle, creating the translation of “strong protector.”
Author and associate professor in the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland Niambi Carter affirmed that cultural shifts contributed to the name changes of many African Americans post slavery.
“Some folks persevered with their names to make family reunification. Others made decisions to change their names and establish new identities. Later, we even find Black people changing their names to reflect a newer consciousness and a cultural shift that divests from European origins,” Carter said.
In addition to Simmons, many African American families report issues when attempting to discover the history behind their last names and ancestral backgrounds.
“I definitely believe that it is a problem in the African American community. It kind of goes hand-in-hand. A lot of African Americans don’t know much about anything about their ancestry and ethnicity,” Simmons said.
Simmons believes that the journey to finding the significance behind your last name shouldn’t become a dire concern.
“I don’t think you need to go find your ethnicity, because we have culture. Being African American is an identity and a culture that is unique,” Simmons said.
Carter believes that African American names shouldn’t be considered insignificant because they are historically embedded within societal status.
“In a society that is stratified by race, our names can be an indicator of racial identity. This should not be an indicator, however, that Black naming practices are deficient. It means we as a society have growing to do,” Carter said.
Jaamal Shabazz, a historian, entrepreneur and Army veteran, believes in Black people reclaiming their surnames. At eighteen, Shabazz joined the Army operating as a 68J Medical Logistics Specialist but soon discovered that the military wasn’t his desired path. After leaving the military, he decided to change his last name, which he said “continued the legacy of slavery.”
Shabazz’ choice was inspired by media like “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness” by Michelle Alexander,“The Autobiography of Malcolm X” by Alex Haley and Spike Lee’s film “Malcom X.” He admired Malcom X’s surname change from “Little” to “X” representing self-liberation.
“I picked the last name Shabazz in homage to Malcom X, who changed his name to El‑Hajj Malik el‑Shabazz…I think it’s a very essential, integral act to take to liberate ourselves,” Shabazz said.
While some community members celebrated Shabazz on his name change, his family was unsupportive about his decision.
“They’re still upset about it. You know I’m always trying to tell them everyone has their personal definition of success for their lives,” Shabazz said.
Shabazz believes that many obstacles that African Americans face can be attributed to cultural erasure, and said individuals should take it upon themselves to fill those gaps.
“The reason why we go through a lot of the hoops and hurdles as a people today is because we don’t know who or what we were in the past. We are going by what we are indoctrinated to believe about ourselves; that is why we settle for crumbs.” Shabazz said.
Stevie Nettles from the Vallejo, California journey of self-discovery began with the search of her maternal grandfather’s identity.
After researching through historical records, Nettles discovered that her grandfather was a founding member of the Black arts movement as well as a member of the Black Panthers.
During an attempt to receive the rights to her grandfather’s poetry, currently owned by a university, she was motivated to uncover the significance of the “Boissière” surname carried by her maternal grandfather. Nettles declined to reveal the specific university in possession of her grandfather’s literary works for privacy reasons.
Nettles successfully traced her ancestry back to A.D. 1046, unveiling a lineage that spans from France to Trinidad and the United States of America. Notably, her ancestor Jean Valleton de Boissière, born in France, partnered with Dr. Edward Jenner to create a smallpox vaccine. Her discovery linked her heritage to the formation of the Port of Spain shortly after the family moved to Trinidad. Immigrating to the United States in 1918, Jean Valleton de Boissière traveled to Ellis Island.
Nettles believes that family discovery can be very bittersweet, navigating a new sense of pride but also unique emotional challenges.
“It’s a strange feeling, especially when I’m coming from people who were enslaved, but then on the flip side I’m coming from colonizers,” Nettles said.
She asserts that the ongoing growth of cultural pride is not fully embraced by everyone and has been met with rejection.
“My family has been in the United States longer than it has been a thing. Like, I feel a thousand percent American, but America’s not proud of me. So it kinda feels like you are an illegitimate child,” Nettles said.
Contrary to Nettles’ record-tracing method, Kyra Bragg’s five-year research journey was met with unexpected discoveries after completing an AncestryDNA kit. She utilized social media platforms like Facebook to connect with fathers Barbados lineage. Upon researching her mother’s heritage, she was shocked to uncover her maternal grandmother’s half-white ancestry from a Caucasian great-grandfather.
“Seeing photos of this man [her maternal great-grandfather] and noticing how much he resembled my grandmother and even my mother was shocking and emotional,” Bragg said.
Bragg encourages other African Americans to be curious about their heritage and open to discoveries.
“Sometimes you’ll uncover things that are sad, confusing or leave you with more questions than answers. Other times, you may recognize traits in relatives and learn more about yourself. Either way, it helps you understand not just your family history—but who you are,” Bragg said.
Copy edited by D’Nyah Jeffereson – Philmore
