The Kalenjin are a Nilotic people living in Kenya. They speak Kalenjin language which is spoken in dialects specific to individual contingent tribes and/or sub-tribes. Their naming system has been subject to westernization and attrition to linguistics due to the Kenyan adoption of Swahili as a lingua franca and the dynamic view that indigenous languages are provincial and irrelevant.
Naming is referred to as . Names are referred to as .
Masculine names
First name (Kip/Kib Name) The first name of Kipsigis boys and men is prefixed by the term and then added a suffix descriptive of the prenatal, natal or post-natal places or time or weather and situations. It was to be widely used before initiation and rarely after, only as the mother mourns a dead soldier son or during divorce. +Kip-nameMeaningNotable peopleOf early morningDavid Kimutaiwith the awakening sheepMoses Kipng'eno RugutOf the returning sheepMoses Kiprono arap Keino, Paul Kiprono Chepkwony, Richard Kiprono Mibey, Kiprono Langat, Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot, Henry Kiprono KosgeyOf the returning cattleDavy Kiprotich KoechJohn Cheruiyot Korir, Peter Cheruiyot Kirui, Edwin Cheruiyot SoiOf the openJohn Korir KipsangIn hasteWilliam Kipchirchir Samoei RutoDuring ratification of peace Kipkalya KonesWhile drinking beerPaul Kipsiele Koech, Gideon Kipsielei Towett MoiHunger/famine Wilson Kiprugut Patronymic 'Araap' surname After boys were initiated as older teenagers or young adults, they would come out as having achieved citizenship of the Kipsigis jurisdiction and would be accorded a patronymic surname derived from the first name of the father. For instance, if the father is named Kiptoo, his son after being initiated is accorded the name Araap Too.
Feminine names
First name (Che/Chep names) +Chep- nameMeaningNotable peoplewith the awakening sheepHellen ChepngenoOf the daytimeEmily ChebetOf the returning sheepJoyce Cherono Laboso, Mercy Cherono/Of the sleep-timeGladys Chepkirui Ngetich, Lineth ChepkuruiJoyce Chepchumba
Other female names A woman unable to have children could marry another woman through the custom of to ensure that she had children to pass on her property to. She is thus taken for a "man" i.e. had to pay for dowry. She is then referred to as or .
References