Names Among Wessyngton Slaves
African Americans got their given or first names from various sources during the slavery. Some of them used African “day names” such as Cudjo, Mingo, and Cuffee, denoting the day of the week on which they were born. Others used names from the Bible, classical names, place names, names of plantation owner’s families, famous individuals like the presidents and their own family members.
The document above lists various sources of names of individuals enslaved on Wessyngton Plantation from 1796 to 1865.
Tags: African American History, African American Names, African American slavery, African Names, Biblical Names, Day Names, Naming Practices, Slave Names
Hello,
I have been conducting genealogy research for about 8 years now and found the information on this site to be very interesting. On my paternal side my father’s last name is Mingo and I have been trying to uncover the origin of the name. The Mingo’s are from a very small community in Columbia, MS but I believe that they migrated from somwhere else before the turn of the century. I had been told by a few of my Pan-African peers that the name was of African origin and that not all enslaved Africans were given the surname of their owner. I wanted to know where you found the information listed about the name ‘Mingo’ and if you have any additional information.
Tasha
Tasha,
There a number of books with African given names and surnames. You are correct not all Africans used European names as some people think. A number of Africans were able to retain their true names and passed them on to their descendants. Google African names among American slaves.
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