Hammond, Vanderpuije, and 20 popular Ghanaian surnames with European origins

Tuesday, June 18, 2019 at 8:38 AM by Aba Afful

One of the more permanent leftovers of Europeans coming to Africa over 500 years ago is the fact that they left us with their names and over the years, we have come to believe it is our own.

There is no place in Africa where European colonization was more felt than in West Africa and close to a century since they left, their foot and fingerprints are all over our societies and identities.

In the aspect of names, Ghanaians have close to 50 surnames that have European origins. But of course, not all of them are popular, and those that even are, are popular among the peoples of the coast.

As follows are 22 very popular Ghanaian surnames that are actually leftovers from European domination in the Gold Coast.

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1. Nelson – British

Popular everywhere in Ghana, except probably the north.

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2. Thompson (Thomson, a variation) – British

Popular among the Ga and Fante.

3. Lutterodt – Dutch

Popular among the Ga.

4. Vanderpuije (Vanderpuye, a variation) – Dutch

Popular among the Ga

5. Swanikker (Svanikker, a variation) – Swedish

Popular among the Ga.

6. McCarthy – British

Popular among the Ga.

7. Wellington –British

Popular among the Ga.

8. Robertson – British

Popular among the Ga and Fante.

9. Quist (Qvist, a variation) – British and Swedish

Popular among the Ga and Fante.

10. Hesse – German

Popular among the Ga.

11. Palmer – British

Popular among the Ga and Fante.

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12. Vandyke – Dutch

Popular among the Ga and Fante.

13. Gorman – Irish

Popular among the people of the coast.

14. Johnson – British

Popular everywhere in Ghana, except probably the north.

15. Arthur - British