Abstract
This article is an analysis of the naming process of the Ndebele people of Matabeleland South province of Zimbabwe. The study provides a semantic analysis of the Ndebele names derived from the colonial experience and those given to children to celebrate independence and its aftermath. The article studies names given between the periods 1970- 1982. An examination of these names encapsulates how the Ndebele understood the impact of colonial rule and the changing circumstances brought about by political independence. The article is classified into two major parts where in the first part the authors provide a semantic analysis of names given to children during the colonial era (1970-1979). The second part investigates names given after independence (1980-1982). Data collected is from a variety of sources including oral interviews held with parents of children born during the period understudy and the authors’ personal knowledge as native speakers of IsiNdebele.