Diarra Explained
Diarra is a French translation of the clan name Jara used in West Africa, as a hangover from the French colonial empire in that region. It originates from the Bambara language word jara, meaning lion,[1] synonymous with waraba.[2] The Kingdom of Diarra existed from the 7th Century until the 19th Century. The name is also frequently used with reference to the 18th to early 19th-century Bambara Empire in Ségou, Mali, which was ruled successively by Ngolo Diarra, his son Mansong (or Monzon) Diarra, and then his son Da Diarra.[3] [4]
The clan name (or patronym[5]) Jara/Diarra is related to another clan name, Koné,[1] and is heard in many of the chronicles that have been handed down orally.[6] Both are frequently praised together in song, signifying bravery and fearlessness.[1] [7]
The name Diarra, now a surname, is traditionally found mostly in Mali, but also Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea and Senegal. Today, it has also spread around the world, notably in France and Spain.[8] Today, it is also used as a given name.
Diarra may refer to:
Surname
- Abdel Diarra (full name Abdel Rahamane Diarra Khalil; born 1994), Ivorian footballer
- Abdoulaye Diarra (born 1987), Ivorian footballer
- Abdoulaye Diarra (footballer, born 1994), Malian international footballer who plays for Maghreb de Fès
- Aboubacar Diarra (born 1993), Malian footballer, played in Egypt
- Adama Traoré Diarra (born 1996), known as Adama, Spanish footballer, plays for Fulham, brother of Mohamed Traoré Diarra
- Ali Diarra (born 1988), Ivorian footballer
- Alou Diarra (born 1981), French international footballer, 2006 FIFA World Cup runner-up
- Alpha Mandé Diarra (born 1954), Malian author
- Amadou Baba Diarra (1933-2008), Malian general and politician
- Arouna Diarra, member of the American folk musical group Rising Appalachia
- Binta Diarra (born 1994), Malian footballer, plays for the national women's team
- Boubacar Diarra (disambiguation), several people, including:
- Boubakary Diarra (born 1993), French-born footballer who has represented Mali at youth level
- Brahima Diarra (born 2003), French footballer, plays for Huddersfield Town
- Cartier Diarra (born 1998), American basketball player
- Cheick Diarra (disambiguation), several people
- Cheikh-Alan Diarra (born 1993), French professional footballer
- Diadié Diarra (born 1991), French footballer
- Djigui Diarra (born 1995), Malian footballer who plays for Tanzanian club Young Africans
- Dramane Diarra (born 1980), French basketball player
- Drissa Diarra (disambiguation), several people
- Elea-Mariama Diarra (born 1990), French athlete
- Fatim Diarra (born 1986), Finnish politician
- Fatoumata Diarra (disambiguation), several people
- Habib Diarra (born 2004), Senegalese footballer, plays for Strasbourg, France
- Harouna Diarra (born 1978), Malian former footballer, played in Crete
- Hélène Diarra (1955–2021), Malian actress
- Ibrahima Diarra (born 1971), Burkinabè former professional footballer
- Ichaka Diarra (born 1995), Malian footballer, plays for Lebanese club Ansar
- Ismaïla Diarra (born 1992), Malian footballer
- Jean-Gabriel Diarra (1945–2019), Malian Roman Catholic bishop
- Lamine Diarra (born 1983), Senegalese football player
- Laré Mohamed Diarra, Burkina Faso international footballer
- Lassana Diarra (born 1985), French international footballer
- Lassana Diarra (Malian footballer) (born 1989), Malian footballer, plays for Djoliba AC
- Lassina Diarra, Malian footballer, plays for AS Bakaridjan
- Mahamadou Diarra (born 1981), Malian international footballer
- Maimouna Diarra (born 1991), Senegalese basketball player
- Mamadou Diarra (disambiguation), several people
- Mamady Diarra (born 2000), Malian footballer
- Mansong Diarra (aka Monzon), ruler of the Bambara Empire from 1795 to 1808; son of Ngolo Diarra
- Mariatou Diarra (born 1985), Malian women's basketball player
- M'Bam Diatigui Diarra (1946–2011), Malian lawyer and human rights activist
- Mohamadou Diarra (born 1983), Senegalese rugby union player
- Mohamed Traoré Diarra, Spanish footballer known as Moha Traoré, brother of Adama
- Mohamed Diarra (born 2001), French basketball player
- Mohammed Diarra (born 1992), Guinean international footballer
- Moké Diarra (born 1983), Malian former professional footballer
- Moussa Diarra (disambiguation), several people
- Moustapha Diarra (born 1987), French basketball player
- Nakunte Diarra (c. 1941–2020), Malian textile artist
- Ngolo Diarra, king of the Bambara Empire from 1766 to 1795; father of Mansong Diarra
- Nianta Diarra (born 1993), Malian professional basketball player
- Oumou Armand Diarra, pseudonym of Malian writer Oumou Modibo Sangare
- Ousmane Diarra (disambiguation), several people
- Raphaël Diarra (born 1995), French professional footballer
- Salimata Diarra (born 1994), Malian international footballer, plays for the Mali women's national team
- Sekou Diarra (born 1993), Malian international footballer, plays for Onze Créateurs
- Seydina Diarra (born 1994), Belgian-Malian footballer
- Seydou Diarra (1933–2020), Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire
- Seydou Diarra (footballer) (born 1968), Ivorian former footballer
- Sidiki Diarra (1952–2014), former Burkinabé footballer, later manager of Burkina Faso national team
- Sigamary Diarra (born 1984), retired Malian footballer
- Souleymane Diarra (born 1995), Malian footballer
- Stéphane Diarra (born 1998), Ivorian footballer
- Tapha Diarra (Moustafa "Tapha" Diarra; born 1970), Senegalese sprinter
- Usman Diarra (born 1998), Indonesian footballer
- Yacouba Diarra (born 1988), Malian footballer
- Youba Diarra (born 1998), Malian footballer, plays for Red Bull Salzburg
Given name
Notes and References
- Book: Larkan . F. . Murphy . F. . Memory and Recovery in Times of Crisis . Taylor & Francis . Memory Studies: Global Constellations . 2017 . 978-1-317-02037-0 . 2 December 2022 . 138.
- Web site: Bambara–French dictionary . Bambara . 2 December 2022.
- Book: Bickford-Smith . V. . Mendelsohn . R. . Black and White in Colour: African History on Screen . James Currey . 2007 . 978-1-84701-522-8 . 2 December 2022 . 36.
- Book: Ajayi, J.F.A. . Africa in the Nineteenth Century Until the 1880s . UNESCO . General history of Africa . 1989 . 978-92-3-101712-4 . 2 December 2022 . 683.
- Book: Frank, B.E. . Griot Potters of the Folona: The History of an African Ceramic Tradition . Indiana University Press . 2022 . 978-0-253-05897-3 . 3 December 2022 . 78.
- Book: Austen, R.A. . In Search of Sunjata: The Mande Oral Epic as History, Literature, and Performance . Indiana University Press . 1999 . 978-0-253-21248-1 . 2 December 2022 . 103.
- Book: Belcher, S. . Epic Traditions of Africa . Indiana University Press . 1999 . 978-0-253-21281-8 . 2 December 2022 . 213.
- Web site: Diarra Surname Origin, Meaning & Last Name History . Forebears . 2 December 2022.
