5. Age-set nicknames

This is not yet clear. The age-set names Chumo and Maina are often used as patronyms, but they are the age-sets of men who were middle aged in the 1960s. Other age-set names are not used as personal names (though Maina is a personal name among the Kikuyu). Possibly a man of Chumo age-set was called Chumo as a nickname and this name passed on as a patronym, Arap Chumo, to his sons, or indirectly became the kainet ap kurenet of a boy who then used it for his son's patronym.

The patronym is of the form Arap ______. Arap being a formalized form of werit ap (the son of). It is followed by one of the names of the man's father, other than his father's patronym, i.e. traditionally there were no family surnames passed down through the generations. If the father's name that is used begins with Kip- this prefix is dropped. It is retained if the father's name begins with the feminine form, Chap-. Changes to the pronunciation of Arap depend on the following sound in a manner similar to the pattern described above for prefixes.

Examples

Since a man can have several names, including his childhood names which would no longer be in use but are suitable for forming his son's patronym, it follows that there is a great degree of choice in the Arap name given to a son. Those clans of Gusii origin do not as a rule use a man's boyhood name as his son's patronym. They tend to choose one of the father's adult nicknames, possibly even one which is not generally known. Clans of Maasai origin follow a similar pattern. Clans of Kalenjin origin generally pick the father's boyhood name, but also give the newly initiated young man a man's nickname which will be used by women - it is improper for a man to be referred to by his childhood name, and by extension, wrong for a woman to use even the Arap form of a man's childhood name when referring to his grown son. The use of two names in such cases is however no longer strictly observed, and the demand for full names in a European format has meant that a grown man's childhood name is now frequently used in nontraditional settings, e.g. "Kiptonui Arap Koech". Many men prefer to use a Christian baptismal name in such circumstances, e.g. James Koech, or James A. Koech, since traditional rules of decorum do not apply to Christian names.

Before boys come out of initiation seclusion, the father must make his choice of names for his son and must inform the moteriot, the boy's instructor, during the seclusion period. The new patronyn is then mentioned during the ceremony of Yatet ap Oret (Opening the Path) which ends the seclusion. If a man has several sons (quite possible for a polygynist0, he may choose to give them different patronyms in order not to make it obvious that his sons are numerous. This is to avoid envy and witchcraft inspired by envy. This practice was limited to the clans of Kalenjin origin, and has been discarded by many. However I knew two full brothers who lived in separate (non-adjacent) homesteads in one community, who went by different patronyms. I don't ever remember meeting the two of them together by themselves. If they were in a small group they never sat next to each other, though there seemed to be no animosity between them.

Patrynyms, because they do not clearly identify the father, and because there is no implication that two men with the same patronym are brothers, do not serve as a full identification. when meeting or referring to a person who is not a close neighbor, Kipsigis find it necessary to ask for a man father's patronym, and often his clan and home area.

Women's Names

At the end of girls' initiations the childhood names beginning with Chep- are discarded. The Tap- names are retained, and are used by women among themselves, and can be used by old men. In general however, men do not use, or even want to mention, women's personal names as these are used ceremonially in divorce when the husband and wife break all the normal rules and call each other by their childhood names. After the birth of a child, a woman is most commonly called Obot ______ (name of child), e.g. "Obot Kiplang'at", obot being a formal term meaning "mother of". She may also be called and referred to as Nebo Arap Sang' (ne bo = the one belonging to), which is roughly the same as Mrs. Arap Sang'. A very old woman could be called by a nickname, or by the name used by her brothers, e.g. Chebo Kipsoi, Chebo Ng'elechei, etc. Chebo is a form of chept'ap (chepto + ap = daughter of). The name is used in the form by which the father was known (i.e., with Kip- if it was such a name) rather than the form used by the brothers as a patronym. Such a name can be used by men and women. An old woman may be called by the name of her clan as a nickname but this is rare. If all of a woman's children are initiated, she may be called Obot plus an adult nickname of one of her children, e.g. Obot Taprandich, Ohot Chebusit.

There are no special names denoting twins, triplets, etc. Members of other tribes who are adpoted as Kipsigis may retain their former names (which may be put into Kipsigis phonemes), or they may be given a Kipsigis name.