The Christening
Béhanzin
Béhanzin (pronounced bé-an-ZIN) is a boy name of Fon origin, used in Benin. It means “The last great king of Abomey, who resisted colonial conquest (“the shark king”).”
- Origin
- Fon
- Region
- Benin
- Gender
- Boy
- Variants
- Gbêhanzin
More Fon names
- Dossou — A boy born after twins
More names that mean “Figures historiques”
- Aksel — 7th-century Amazigh king (Kusayla); his name is associated with the leopard
- Dihya — Amazigh warrior queen of the Aurès, 7th century
- Enitan — The one who carries a story
- Gaya — Numidian king, father of Massinissa
- Makeda — The Ethiopian name of the Queen of Sheba
- Mansa — King, sovereign — the title borne by Mansa Musa
- Massinissa — First king of a unified Numidia, 2nd century BC
- Nzinga — Queen of Ndongo and Matamba, a figure of 17th-century resistance
- Pokou — Founding queen of the Baoulé people (18th century), heroine of the sacrifice at the Comoé river
- Rolihlahla — The one who pulls the branch — figuratively, the one who shakes up the established order. Nelson Mandela’s birth name
“Béhanzin” comes from Fon culture (Benin). Every African country has its own tale in 54 Tales of Africa, our illustrated collection.
Discover the tale from Benin