HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Have-A-Look. Handsome. Thanks. Trust. Privilege. Doubt. Problem. Shame. In Zimbabwe, these aren’t just random words. They are names chosen with intention in a culture where naming a child goes beyond identity and can offer a snapshot of family history, emotion and circumstance.

At first, Privilege Mubani, a 37-year-old bar manager in the capital, Harare, didn’t give much thought to her name.

But as she grew older, she asked her father what her name meant. The answer unlocked a story she had never imagined, one filled with stigma, resilience and unexpected joy.

Her mother had become pregnant out of wedlock. In a conservative society where single motherhood is frowned upon, she had given up any hope of getting married.

Then a suitor swept in and tied the knot despite the stigma, and her mother felt redeemed.

“People had been laughing at her. She was being mocked for having a ‘fatherless’ child.…