18 Mind-Blowing Facts You Didn't Know About Nelson Mandela
18. His Birth Name Was "Rolihlahla"... And He Was Given "Nelson" As His English Name On His First Day Of School
Nelson Mandela is how one of the most-famous men in history may be known, but he was actually born as Rolihlahla. The future South African President was born on July 18, 1918, in the village of Mvezo in the countrys Cape province, and his original first name of Rolihlahla meant troublemaker in the Xhosa language. Baptised as a Methodist, Mandela was then given the English first name of Nelson by his teacher at the age of seven while at school. Mandela later commented:
No one in my family had ever attended school... On the first day of school my teacher, Miss Mdingane, gave each of us an English name. This was the custom among Africans in those days and was undoubtedly due to the British bias of our education. That day, Miss Mdingane told me that my new name was Nelson. Why this particular name I have no idea.
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.
