Kenya

Kenya is a place name, derived from a country located on the eastern shores of the African continent bordered by the Indian Ocean, Somalia, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania. Kenya gets its name from one of the several Bantu languages spoken there; most specifically the indigenous Kikuyu tribe who referred to the region as “Kiri-nyaga” meaning “spotted mountain” (in reference to the now-extinct-yet-once-volcanic Mt. Kenya). The mountain appeared spotted from a distant perspective with the white snow against the black rocks (standing at over 17,000 ft., Mt. Kenya is the second tallest mountain in Africa after Kilimanjaro in Tanzania). Kenya was a name adopted by African-Americans starting in the late 1960s on the heels of the Civil Rights Movement and in celebration of their African heritage. In reality, however, the modern human as we know our species arose out of Africa so in essence all humans at one point originated out of Africa making Kenya a celebratory name for ALL humans of every color and creed, and not just those of African descent. Aside from Kenya’s clear connection with the country, Kenya is also a diminutive for the Russian masculine name Innokentiy (from the Latin Innocentius) meaning quite obviously “little innocent” (in the diminutive). It seems odd today, but Innocent was actually a popular Christian name in the Middle Ages, so much so it was borne by more than a dozen Popes and several early saints. Among modern English speakers, however, Kenya is being used in the sense of the geographical place name rather than as a Russian masculine diminutive. Kenya is most popular among African-Americans in the United States (Gladys Knight and Quincy Jones each have a daughter they named Kenya).