My Dad, Dr. Kweku A. Garbrah has passed away. He was a proud Ghanaian and a Professor of Classics for over 50 years. This page is dedicated to his memory.
In memory of my Mama.
A playlist 4MyParents on rdio.
The YouTube video above allows the listener to hear Fante-Akan Day Names and see how it is spelled.
The voice in the animation was provided by my dad, Dr. K. A. Garbrah. I put together the animation.
The Akan are the largest ethnic group in Ghana, West Africa. Some Akan also live in neighbouring Côte d'Ivoire (the Ivory Coast). The Akan are divided into many sub-groups, the largest and most famous grouping being the Asante (modern spelling), also spelled Ashanti (older spelling). The second largest group of the Akan are the Fante (modern spelling), also spelled Fanti (older spelling). Other Akan groups include the Akwamu, the Akuapem, the Denkyira, the Nzima and the Baule. Kwame Nkrumah, first president of modern Ghana, was an Nzima.
The Akan languages are divided into many groupings, Twi and Fante being the two most well known. However, the distinctions between the languages have blurred in the 20th and 21st centuries. Modern Fante speakers use many Twi words. Although the Ewe people in Ghana use Twi Names, they are more closely related to the Yoruba of Nigeria.
Akan names are not English names, consequently there are many different ways of transliterating these names into English. For example I have seen many different spellings of Kofi, including Kufi, Coffee, and Cuffee. The spellings chosen are the most common modern spellings.
These are common spellings of Fante-Akan names and their Twi-Akan equivalents.
| Weekday | Fante Girl's name | Twi Girl's name | Fante Boy's Name | Twi Boy's Name |
| Sunday | Esi | Akosua | Kwesi | Kwasi |
| Monday | Adwoa | Adwoa | Kodwo | Kwadwo |
| Tuesday | Abena | Abena | Kobena | Kwabena |
| Wednesday | Ekua | Akua | Kweku | Kwaku |
| Thursday | Aba | Yaa | Yaw | Yaw |
| Friday | Efua | Afua | Kofi | Kofi |
| Saturday | Ama | Amba | Kwamena | Kwame |