Chris Attoh And Fiancée Damilola Adegbite Hold A Naming Ceremony For Their First Child

In Africa, a name isn’t just a name.  It’s part of your identity.  

It speaks to who you are, when you were born, the circumstances surrounding your birth, and most important, where you come from. In Ghana, a person’s name tells their ethnicity and their religion. For these reasons, a name is not chosen by accident; much consideration is put into it. And so it’s only fitting that we have a ceremony surrounding the blessed occasion of the conferring of a name upon a baby. 

Naming ceremonies are mostly done on the eighth day after a child is born.  Whatever day a family decides to name a child, they must ensure the baby is at least a week old.

Among the Ga people of James Town in Chris's family, this day is a big day. During the naming ceremony, libation is poured and other rites are performed to ask the ancestors to protect the newborn and give him the wisdom and blessings he will need in the future.

In view of its relevance, some throw big parties to welcome the new addition to the family. In attendance are mostly family members and friends. A naming ceremony also serves as an opportunity for two families to come together, especially where parents of the child are a couple, either married or planning to.

In September 2014, Ghallywood actor Chris Attoh and Nollywood actress Damilola Adegbite welcomed their first son after Chris proposed to Damilola in New York.  A few weeks after, the excited actor revealed the baby’s name as Brian Nii Aryeetey Oluwaferanmi Attoh. Clearly, the name shows where the baby’s parents come from.  Nii Aryeetey Attoh is a Ghanaian name, Ga, to be precise. As some may know, Chris Attoh hails also from royalty and may soon succeed his father as a James Town sub Chief. Among the Ga, it is customary for the firstborn to be known as Aryeetey, meaning “first son.” The name was given by Chris’s father, Nii Kojo Armah the IV, sub Chief of James Town.

The name Oluwaferanmi is Nigerian, a Yoruba name meaning “God loves me.” The name Oluwaferanmi was given by Damilola’s mother. The entire name is a beautiful blend of the Ghanaian and Nigerian cultures.

Over the weekend, Chris and Damilola officially named their first child. As usual, the ceremony saw the coming together of both families to introduce the new family member to the world. Also in attendance was Chief Dele Momodu of Ovation Magazine. Dami and Chris are very happy and thanking God for this and all the many blessings in their lives. The two are also looking forward to their wedding plans sometime next year. We promise to bring you the exclusive right here.

 Chris and Damilola

Chris and Damilola with Dele Momodu and little Brian

Family members of Chris and Damilola

Though Christianity has added a little embellishment to how some African naming ceremonies are conducted, they still play a significant role as they form part of our culture and traditions. 

Some either christen their newborns at church or invite a religious leader to be present at a family gathering for naming a newborn, to ask for God’s blessing and protection of the baby. This was done by the good Rev. Frank Abbey of the Ebenezer Baptist Church, Ashongman Accra.

Judging by the pictures above, we can conclude that this naming ceremony was one happy and blessed event.

Chris told us, “We are very happy, and I guess we both agree that with parenting, the more time we spend at it the better we will get at it, and that’s what we intend to do together as a family. Thanks for all your well wishes and support from our cherished fans ....always more to come!”

Brian Nii Aryeetey Oluwaferanmi Attoh, we welcome you to the world. We once again congratulate the celebrity couple on their beautiful bundle of joy.