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This article is about the name. For the album by Charles Sullivan (Kamau Muata Adilifu), see Kamau (album).
Kamau is a male name of Kenyan origin that may refer to:
It is primarily a masculine name in the Kikuyu, belonging to the Bantu group who migrated from the Congo region. The name was given to a group of young men who went through initiation together. The group was called Rika. The initiation process involved circumcision, training and mentoring to help transition from childhood to manhood. The young men in the group would take up their initiation group's name as a given name (Ritwa ria Rika) as a form of association, but would still keep their original name. Thus the man's original name may be Wambugu, but he may choose to use his Rika name Kamau. As a result, men usually had two or three names (Given/birth name, Initiation name and Nickname).
Though the tradition is not practiced, the name is passed on through the naming system in a family from the ancestor who had received the name through the initiation to the next generation. As a result it is now used as a birth/given name inherited from a relative and to many it has become a family name.[citation needed]
Bruce Kamau, Kenyan-born Australian footballer
Gibson Kamau Kuria, lawyer and human rights activist
Daniel Kamau, Kenyan writer
Ian Kamau, Canadian hip hop and spoken word artist
James Maina Kamau, Kenyan politician from Nairobi County
Jamleck Irungu Kamau, Kenyan politician from Murang'a County
Johnstone Kamau Ngengi, birth name of Jomo Kenyatta, first Kenya president.
Kamau Brathwaite, poet and writer from Barbados
KAMAUU, American singer and rapper
Michael Kamau, Kenyan cabinet secretary for Transport and Infrastructure
W. Kamau Bell, American stand-up comic
Kamau Nkenge, American born radiology professional.
Name list
This page or section lists people that share the same given name or the same family name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.
Kamau is a male name of Kenyan origin that may refer to: It is primarily a masculine name in the Kikuyu, belonging to the Bantu group who migrated from...
Edward Kamau Brathwaite, CHB (/kəˈmaʊ ˈbræθweɪt/; 11 May 1930 – 4 February 2020), was a Barbadian poet and academic, widely considered one of the major...
Kamau Murray (born 1980) is an American tennis coach. He is best known for coaching Sloane Stephens to the US Open title in 2017. Murray grew up on the...
Bruce Kamau (born 28 March 1995) is a professional soccer player who most recently played as a winger for Perth Glory in the A-League. Born in Kenya,...
Ian Kamau is a Canadian writer, hip hop and spoken word artist, writer, designer, and visual artist from Nairobi, Kenya. Kamau is the son of Trinidadian...
Kamau Thugge (born 1960) is a Kenyan economist, banker, and the tenth and current governor of the Central Bank of Kenya. He assumed office on 19 June...
Kamau Mbonisi Kwame Agyeman, known professionally by his stage name, KAMAUU (formerly KAMAU and brother KAMAU), is an American singer and rapper based...
husband's younger brother, Ngengi. Kenyatta then took the name of Kamau wa Ngengi ("Kamau, son of Ngengi"). Wambui bore her new husband a son, whom they...
David Nganga Kamau (born August 4, 1965, in Nakuru, Kenya) is a former Kenyan professional boxer in the Light Middleweight division who lost only four...
Catherine Kamau (born February 3, 1987) is a Kenyan award-winning actress, popularly known as "Celina" (or "Selina") and "Kate Actress". She came into...
Michael Kamau (born 1958) is a Kenyan civil servant who was nominated by President Uhuru Kenyatta as Cabinet Secretary for Transport and Infrastructure...
Kamau Sadiki Leverock (born 19 October 1994) is a Bermudian cricketer and the captain of the Bermuda cricket team. A nephew of two former ODI players...
William Kamau (January 15, 1851 – January 9, 1944) was an American clergyman, and the second Kahu (shepherd) of Hawaiian ancestry at Kawaiahaʻo Church...
John Bombay Kamau (born 21 December 1995) is a Kenyan winger currently in the ranks of Kenyan Premier League side Nairobi City Stars. Kamau turned out...
on-air correspondent for the television program Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell, which premiered on FX in 2012. She joined the comedy series One Day...
Kojo Kamau (October 11, 1939––December 12, 2016) was an American photographer and gallerist based in Columbus, Ohio. Kojo Kamau was born Robert Jones Jr...
Macharia Kamau (born 3 March 1958) is Kenya's Principal Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He previously served as Kenya's representative to...
Daniel Kamau Mwai "DK" (born February 1949 in Gatanga, Muranga District) is a musician from Kenya. He is of Kikuyu ethnic group and performs Benga music...
Kamau Kenyatta (born June 27, 1955) is a Grammy Award-winning record producer. He is a musician, arranger, film composer, and educator. He is a Teaching...
Samuel Kamau Macharia (born 1942), also known as S. K. Macharia, is the Kenyan founder and chair of Royal Media Services, one of Kenya's largest private...
Christine Kamau is a Kenyan jazz musician and composer, who plays the trumpet and the saxophone. She has performed at various Kenyan and international...
Jamleck Irungu Kamau, also known as "Kabisa Kabisa" (born on 10 May 1965), was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 2007 to 2017 representing Kigumo Constituency...
Samuel Kamau Wanjiru (10 November 1986 – 15 May 2011) was a Kenyan long-distance runner who won the 2008 Beijing Olympics Marathon in an Olympic record...
Canute Kamau Preston, (born 3 January 1979), known as Kamau Preston, formerly DJ Monk, is a Jamaican musician, international DJ, record producer and television...
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