Kenyan Artists Embrace Maternal Surnames Amid Social Challenge

One of the early figures to overturn the convention of male surnames was Peter Kĩgia, a Kenyan musician who adopted his mother’s name as his stage name.

Now in his sixties, Kĩgia wa Esther—son of Esther—is celebrated for performing benga, a fast‑paced, guitar‑driven folk style featuring Kikuyu lyrics.

‘When you adopt your mother’s name, it reflects love and respect for her,’ he told the BBC, noting that he had registered his record label as Wa Esther Productions.

This approach has garnered considerable prestige within the music industry, inspiring other young male artists to follow suit. Posters featuring performers with maternal surnames, such as Waithaka wa Jane and 90K Ka Msoh, frequently adorn billboards throughout Nairobi.

In these instances, however, the artists’ legal names remain male.

Journalist Simon Macharia Wangũi told the BBC that he deliberately chose his mother’s name as his official surname.

‘Why should I give credit to someone who does not deserve it?’ he asked, referring to his father, who was absent for most of his life and about whom he knows only rumors.

Primarily raised by his grandmother, he was twelve when his mother died in 2003. He lacked a surname until his final year of high school, when he applied for a birth certificate.

Some Kenyans believe that a child raised by a single parent ‘lacks certain moral values,’ notes Evans Kibe Waceke, a broadcaster who carries a female surname.

‘People often view you as undisciplined, particularly when raised by a single mother,’ he told the BBC.

Two years ago, a heated debate about the advantages and disadvantages of using a female surname ignited when prominent motivational speaker Robert Burale claimed it undermined men’s masculinity.

The discussion prompted TV personality Fred Mũitĩrĩri to go public about the challenges of bearing a female surname—and how he eventually dropped it, opting to use only his English and Kikuyu first names.

‘Do you know how humiliating it is for a boy to be singled out in a room full of peers with a girl\’s name?’ he wrote on Facebook, reflecting on his low self‑esteem.

‘From some of those experiences, I developed depression at the age of 23,’ he said.

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