Afia is an Akan people female given name among the Akan people (i.e. Ashanti people, Akuapem people, Akyem, Fante people) in Ghana that means "born on Friday" in Asante dialect, following their Akan names.
Origin and meaning
In the
Akan language culture, day names are known to be derived from deities. Afia originates from Kwaofida, which means "Lord of life's home day".
Those with this name are adventurers and indecisive, thus taking time to settle,
and are highly motivated and competent.
Female variant of Afia
Day names in
Ghana have varying spellings, because of the various Akan subgroups. Each Akan subgroup has a similar or different spelling for the day name to other
Akan language subgroups. Afia is spelt thus by the
Akuapem dialect and Ashanti subgroups, while the
Fante dialect subgroup and spell it as Efua and Afua.
Male version of Afia
In the Akan culture and other local cultures in
Ghana, day names come in pairs for males and females.
The variant of the name used for a male child born on Friday is
Kofi, Fiifi and Fi.
Notable people called Afia
Most Ghanaian children have their cultural day names in combination with their English or Christian names. Some notable people with such names are:
-
Afia Charles (born 1992), sprinter representing Antigua and Barbuda
-
Afia Masood, fictional character in EastEnders
-
Afia Nathaniel (born before 1991), Pakistani filmmaker
-
Afia Pokua, Ghanaian media personality, known professionally as Vim Lady
-
Afia Salam, Pakistani journalist and media development specialist
-
Afia Schwarzenegger (born 1982), Ghanaian media personality
-
Afia Amankwaah Tamakloe, Ghanaian television and radio personality, journalist, and health advocate
-
Moshik Afia (born 1974), Israeli singer
-
Nura Afia (born 1993), a beauty vlogger
