Wanjiku

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Wanjikũ is a feminine name. Historically, Wanjikũ was one of the nine daughters of the man and wife who founded the Agĩkũyũ people, Gĩkũyũ and Mũmbi. Consequently, the descendants of her lineage form the Agacikũ Clan of the Agĩkũyũ tribe in Kenya.

In Gĩkũyũ traditions, the name Gathigia was also the same as Wanjikũ. For instance; this happened in cases where the person after whom a child was to be named bears the same name and it existed earlier like if the mother of the husband is called Wanjikũ and wife's mother is Wanjikũ. The first daughter will be named Wanjikũ after her father's mother according to the naming tradition. The second daughter would also be named Wanjikũ after her mother's mother, according to the naming tradition, but since it is inconvenient to have two daughters with the same name, the second daughter bore the name Gathigia just for distinction. The true name of the daughter Gathigia may be believed to be Wanjikũ, so when she had granddaughters who are supposed to be named after her they may be named Wanjikũ rather than Gathigia. However, this trend has changed with time and Gathigia is no longer a common name. Cikũ is a common short form of Wanjikũ.

Today, in Kenya, Wanjiku (Not Wanjikũ) is a name that is used to symbolize a citizen in the context of national politics. The name came to represent the ordinary person "Mwananchi" after former President Daniel arap Moi dismissed the calls for a new constitution. He said "Do you think Wanjiku understands what is a constitution?" Following this, 'Wanjiku' came to mean the general public and the meaning has stuck.