‘Thandiwe’ Newton name correction resonates with Twitter

The significance of your name change and its meaning, historical lineage and cultural importance is something actress Thandie Newton has taken into account.

The British Zimbabwean actress announced on Monday she is reverting to the original spelling of her name, Thandiwe. She explained to British Vogue it means “beloved” in Shona.

“That’s my name. It’s always been my name. I’m taking back what’s mine,” she was quoted as telling the British magazine. However the award-winning actress was corrected, as Thandiwe is not a Shona name but rather a Zulu name.

There was hot debate as to which tribe her name belonged to on Twitter. Some explained the name is an umbrella under the Nguni tribe. This includes Xhosa, Zulu and Swati, while others said the name is also Ndebele, with their language similar to Zulu.

Realising her mistake, Newton said this is “what happens when you’re separated from your identity for so long, that you forget who you are #ZimbabweanLivesMatter”.

Sincerest apologies from me, for error in @BritishVogue My name ‘Thandiwe’ is Zulu, my mother’s tribe is Shona. That’s what happens when you’re separated from your identity for so long, that you forget who you are #ZimbabweanLivesMatter????????

— Thandiwe Newton OBE (@ThandiweNewton) April 5, 2021

Why the change? Newton said the director of her new first film, Flirting in 1991, wanted to use her full name but when the credits rolled they used her nickname.

ALSO READ: Thandie Newton reverts to correct spelling of her name

“The director of my first film asked to use my actual name for the character because it was authentic and beautiful. I felt flattered and agreed. And then in the credits, they used my nickname to differentiate from the character name. They stole my name and I’m taking it back.”

The conversation of African names reverted to nicknames or “easier” pronunciations started an important discussion among tweeps.

Many black people can resonate with this. To me personally, my full name is rarely used. Sandisiwe which means “we are now many”.  It was quickly shortened by a teacher in grade 5 to “Sandy” when I moved from KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) to Johannesburg.

The teacher said my name was too long or hard to pronounce and I blame myself for keeping it. It is exhausting correcting people constantly when they mispronounce your name and people rarely know the meaning, so when I introduce myself with my full name and someone says it’s “beautiful” and they know the meaning, that means a lot.

Thandiwe Newton’s story is resonating with me because from workplace to workplace I’ve had to fight for my full name. “Why is your surname in your name?” Then it gets shortened to my nickname. Sometimes I just get tired, even though I don’t like seeing it shortened on signatures.

— Zamandlovu Ndlovu (@Ms_ZamaNdlovu) April 5, 2021

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