Name Changes in South Africa: An Indigenous Flavour

The paper seeks to address the fact that name changing may be used as a unifying tool with the express view of promoting and rediscovering the country’s heritage. Name changing may be influenced by, amongst others, factors such as past history, beliefs, race, ethnicity, democracy and the physical features of a place. It may also be influenced by members of the community who want to reclaim their lost identity and also to restore historical records. The process must be properly handled because it might divide the nation. The paper further argues that all stakeholders should play a meaningful role in the rewriting of the history of South Africa by being involved in all the naming and renaming processes.