The Jamaican newspapers have asked a pretty interesting question–what kind of name is Usain and Asafa, the first names of the two Jamaican sprinting stars?
]]>The name ‘Usain’ was picked out for the sprinter by his aunt, Betsy Davis.
When The Star contacted her yesterday, she said that she could not immediately recall what the name meant, jokingly stating it was 22 years ago that she chose it. She did, however, mention that the runner’s pet name, ‘Vijay’, was a Hindi word/name meaning ‘victory’.
While attempts to contact the star (Asafa Powell’s) parents were not successful, postings on a website dedicated to the former 100m world record holder revealed that the name ‘Asafa’, means ‘To rise to the occasion’. It is of African origin.