Bloganuary writing prompt

Write about your first name: its meaning, significance, etymology, etc.

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My first name is Rukky, which is short for Rukevwe – which itself is short for Oghenerukevwe. Oghenerukevwe is an Urhobo name from Delta State, Nigeria that means “God has done me well”. Most people shorten the name to Rukevwe or Rukky. Pretty much everyone I know calls me Rukky. I feel a tad special when someone calls me Rukevwe, but I rarely ever get called Oghenerukevwe.

I felt a bit awkward the first time I learned that my name sounds like the English word “rookie”, which essentially refers to a newbie or an amateur. I’ve also had a couple of people make jokes about my name sounding like “rookie”. The word certainly does not have good connotations, because who wants to be identified as an amateur?

But, as I got older, I learned to dissociate my name from that word. Why? Because I’m not English, so I shouldn’t care what my name sounds like in English. In fact, some English words also have completely different meanings in other languages. For example, I recently learned that the word “gift”, which refers to a present in English, actually means poison in German.

At the end of the day, I am proudly an Urhobo girl from Delta State, Nigeria, and I love that my name reflects my Urhobo roots. I am not a “rookie”, because I am not an Englishwoman. I am Rukky – Oghenerukevwe – a 24-year-old Urhobo girl who loves writing.

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