He is not Gabriel

His full name is Gabriel Enam Pernell. His dad, Jahsway, forgot he had nixed the name Gabriel in about month six and when I brought it up again at month eight, liked it. Enam was selected from the few male Ewe tribal names that Jahsway's brother Richard would come up with, but I liked it since it started with an E like my grandfather Edward, and it meant "gift from God." I don't really believe in God, but I liked the name Enam. Note that if the letters are rearranged, Enam is name. I pushed for Enam to be the first name, but Jahsway wanted an American-sounding first name. I figured that was okay, Gabriel could always rearrange later if he wanted.

And then he is also Kofi, because he was born on Friday. I didn't put that down on the birth certificate, but to the Ghanaians, he is Kofi. When I was first in Ghana, I thought that it was a nice gesture of respect that so many Ghanaian men were named after Kofi Annan, but then I realized that all males born on Friday are Kofi.

Pernell is a made-up name. It comes from the boxer Pernell Whittaker. His original last name is Azizaglo, but Jahsway took on the name of a fighter.

I love the sound of the African name Azizaglo, it zings off my tongue, much more than the soft plod of the British-originated-boxer-name, but that was the father's chosen name so we gave it to Gabriel. I try to stealthily introduce Azizaglo once in awhile. And from time to time mention the Russian name Karasic which is my father's surname, and was given to his Jewish family generations ago by the Tsar for the men's battlefield bravery. For all their courage, they got a name that is a diminutive form of a kind of carp. I know that's not Gabriel's name, but I want him to be familar with it.

He also has two Hebrew names, after my grandfathers' Hebrew names, Yitzhak and Reuven. So sometimes I can't help but call him Kofi Gabriel Enam Yitzhak Reuven Karasic Azizaglo Pernell.