NAMES FOR BUSINESS GAIN

Abstract

The paper describes reasons as to why people change their personal Names. The act of changing names is not only deeply rooted from person decision but also sociocultural implication. The existing body of literature dwell on the factors for naming personal names, this attracts attentions for the factors of personal names changing . The study used descriptive theory which argues that the meaning of the name is identical to its descriptions and their referents satisfy these explanations. The study used purposive sampling in selecting twenty informants aged 20-50, ten from villages and the rest from the town area in Tanzania, snowball technique was used in selecting them as they seemed to change their names. The study used qualitative approach under descriptive theory in data analysis and discussion thematically. It was found that divorce, business, articulation simplification, safety and security, homosexuality, religious conversion and artistic purpose were circumstantial contexts of changing names. It was concluded that names changing results into loosing and endangering sociocultural identities of human historical heritage because African names serve not only as identifiers but also as powerful tools for driving and develo