Who or what is being named, and how? Why are the names “needed”

The motif of names is one of the strongest in the story, starting from the title of the book itself. NoViolet Bulawayo uses a pen name herself constructed from her mother's name, Violet, the word "No" which means "with" in Bulwayo's home language, and the name Bulawayo which is the name of the author's home city in Zimbabwe. Bulawayo has also spoken about how the naming practices in Zimbabwe often lead to names chosen for meaning, and the way she has tried to translate this in the name of characters in her book.

In addition, the topic of names is explicitly discussed at multiple points in We Need New Names. One such time is when the young girls prepare to give their friend Chipo an abortion, though they don't really know what they need to do, and taking on the names of doctors from the TV show ER helps them to feel that they have the maturity and responsibility necessary for the act. Later in the book, in the chapter "How They Lived," the practice of immigrants giving American names that have no meaning or connection for them to their children born as American citizens, demonstrating one aspect the disconnect between generations of immigrants in Western countries. In another moment, Darling marvels at the fact that Tshaka Zulu has personally named all of his children and grandchildren living back in Zimbabwe, something that keeps him connected to each of them every time their names are said.

A final, very important, moment in the motif of names is the fact that Darling's friend Chipo names her daughter Darling. Though the reasoning is somewhat dark - Darling's friends say the name was chosen "so there would be another Darling in case something happened to [her] in America" (212). Darling says that she doesn't know how to feel about this, and it is certainly an interesting choice, giving Darling a kind of rebirth in Zimbabwe even as she grows farther and farther away from her family and friends who remain there.