Kwanzaa

Meaning of Kwanzaa

Classified as a feminine given name in English, Kwanzaa (pronounced /ˈkwɑnzə/) traces its etymology to the Swahili term kwanza—literally “first” or “first fruits”—and shares its nomenclature with the week-long pan-African holiday established by Maulana Karenga in 1966 to affirm communal heritage, unity and cultural reclamation. According to United States Social Security Administration records, the name has appeared sporadically since 1984—when it was bestowed upon five newborn girls (ranked 788)—reaching a provisional apex of ten occurrences in 1994 (ranked 839) before stabilizing at six to eight annual births throughout the early 1990s (ranks 851–856), a distribution that, while modest in absolute terms, evidences its nuanced integration within African-American identity movements. Although it has yet to penetrate the upper tiers of name popularity, the adoption of Kwanzaa for a female child conveys an intentional cultural resonance, articulating values of ancestral reverence, collective solidarity and Pan-African pride within an Anglo-American naming paradigm.

Pronunciation

English

• Pronunced as KWAN-zuh (/ˈkwɑnzə/)