Nelson Mandela certainly did not wait to see what others would do. He was an ordinary person in many ways, but he did extraordinary things, and the many names he was given reflected aspects of his being and his destiny. His birth name, Roliblahla, given by his father, is an isiXhosa name that means “pulling the branch of a tree”, but colloquially means “troublemaker”, and he grew to become a committed troublemaker in the name of equality and justice. On his first day of school, he was given the Christian name Nelson by his teacher, a common practice influenced by British colonials who couldn’t easily pronounce African names. In later life South Africans of all ages called him “Tata,” a term of endearment meaning “father.” He also is referred to as “Khulu,” the abbreviated form of “grandfather,” also meaning “Great One.” After his death he was affectionately referred to as Madiba, his clan name, that reflected respect for his ancestry.
