This study explores the motivating factors for names and naming in the Otukpa variety of the Enone dialect of Idoma. Employing a cognitive semantic framework, the research investigates a corpus of 40 names. The paper found that the motivating factors for names and naming in Otukpa variety of Idoma include the time or/and season of birth, the ideological posture of the parents, cultural representation, the circumstances of birth, fear of death, family or community significance, honour for ancestors and the aspirations of the parents for the child. The paper concludes that names and naming in Otukpa serves as a linguistic and cultural repository. The study recommends that a bilingual Idoma-English dictionary of personal names that reflect various varieties like the Otukpa variety should be compiled.

The paper identifies unique linguistic patterns in the Otukpa variety per naming structures.