I named myself Chimamanda – Adichie

Renowned Nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie has opened up about how she crafted the name “Chimamanda” for herself, revealing that it wasn’t given to her by her parents.

In an interview with popular TV host Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, Adichie shared insights into her upbringing on the University of Nigeria campus in Nsukka, the personal connections that shaped her teenage years, and her thoughts on Nigeria’s creative scene.

Adichie recounted her journey, stating, “It happened shortly before my first novel was published. I was born Ngozi Grace.”

She explained how she felt disconnected from her birth names—Grace, which was her mother’s name, and Ngozi, which she found too common. Her quest for a unique identity led her to invent the name Chimamanda, a blend of her Igbo heritage and the influence of a character named Amanda from a novel she read.

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“I was Amanda from secondary school till the first year of university where I was studying medicine. Then I went to the US. It was about a month into my time there; I was an undergraduate and there were about five people in class with the name Amanda. It wasn’t that it wasn’t so unique anymore, it was the way they pronounced it. And I thought, this is so not me,” she said, highlighting the moment she felt the need for a change.

She described the exact moment when the name Chimamanda came to her like a revelation, lying in a tiny guest room in her brother’s house in England.

Reflecting on her name’s impact, Adichie noted, “In some ways, it feels legitimate now because half of the kids born in Igboland are being named Chimamanda.”