Surplus Jokes of teh Interwebz

Ever since mobile phone services were introduced in KwaZulu-Natal some parents have named their children after some of the terms used by mobile services providers.

According to Home Affairs statistics some of the children born from 1993 when mobile services were introduced in the province (and the rest of SA) have the following names:

1. Network Madondo
2. Subscriber Zulu
3. Nokia Khumalo
4. Siemens Mdlalose
5. Motorola Buthelezi
6. Dial Magubane
7. Vodacom Mkhize
8. Call Later Ndlovu
9. Voicemail Ngobese
10 Simcard Makhathini
11 Scratchcard Mlaba
12 Talktime Luthuli
13 Send Ndebele
14 Paging Nyawose
15 Cellphone Mpungose
16 Message Gumede
17 SMS Mabaso
18 Phonebook Dlamini
19 Ringtone Khoza
20 MTN Shezi
21 Prepaid Zwane
22 Pay as you go Mfeka
23 Please Call Me Cetshwayo
24 Contract Mabaso
25 Charger Ngobese
26 Hands Free Tshabalala
27 Unavailable Masondo
28 Switchoff Mabuza
29 Sim-Rejected Hlongwane
30 Airtime Zwelithini
31 Internet Mthethwa
32 Server Mkhize

Obviously you can read this as a measure of the social or psychological importance of cellphones, though I think there's also a tradition in southern Africa of adopting words from other languages into names.

Labels: Mobile names