The significance of surnames in African culture: A case of linguistic aspects of Northern Sotho surnames

African surnames can be described as the guardians of family lineage in many cultures since they depict the ethnic identity of the people. Regardless of the cross-cultural differences in the world today, the identity constructed for an individual through the surname they bear is of great significance in African culture. Most of the surnames used are said to be patronyms that are personal names of their ancestors and there is a small number that links to femininity in these surnames. Since surnames are typically derived from the language of the people they belong to, they also serve as a means of identifying each person’s ethnic origin. Although studies have been conducted on Northern Sotho surnames, the linguistic aspects that form part of the significance of surnames have not been investigated in detail. This qualitative study aims to identify different Northern Sotho surnames and analyse them according to morphological and semantic structures to trace the origins of naming conventions for preservation through documentation. As the meanings of surnames are discussed from a cultural perspective, both sociocultural and onomastics theories are the framework of this study. Different surnames were collected from existing documents such as books, journals, dissertations and specific websites on the internet. The study finds that there is a relationship between the surname’s morphological and semantic aspects and their origin. Therefore, a study on morphological and semantic structure of surnames in all indigenous languages is recommended.