Love Island series 13 is back and in full swing, and one contestant already turning heads is West End performer Ope Sowande. The 27-year-old from Lincolnshire has a big personality that has caught the attention of viewers and his fellow cast members. While it might have put him at risk of being dumped by bombshell George Knight, most people find it endearing.
How to Pronounce Love Island's Ope's Name
He introduced himself on the show as Ope, pronounced oh-pee, but many Nigerian and Yoruba speakers have come forward to claim that he is westernising his name and that is not the correct way to pronounce it. Ope is the only Black male on the show this year, and while he described himself as Black British, he has not specified his ethnicity. However, the name Ope is a common Nigerian name that usually comes from a longer name like Opeyemi or Opeoluwa.
In Yoruba, Ope is a common nickname derived from the word for "thanks," "gratitude," or "praise." Opeoluwa means "Thanks to God." Former Love Island star Deji Adeniyi, who is Nigerian, took to TikTok jokingly saying: "Man like Op-ee, not Op-eh! His name is Op-ee, that is what he is, he is Op-ee."
Viewers Weigh In
One viewer, who is also Nigerian and called Immanuel, said on TikTok: "Brudda came into the villa, said, 'My name is Op-ee'. Sounds like a flipping slur, you need to lock in brother. When I tell people I'm from Cambridge, that is what they expect from me, but I'm not that way." He added: "They need to trap that brother in south London for five years, no escape, because what has happened to that young man, young black man..." Immanuel went on to pronounce his name in a Nigerian accent, saying it as Op-eh. Fans agreed in the comments, with one writing "OpE" and another saying: "Like wdym ur name is opey, ITS OPEEEEEHHHHH."
He is not the only person making TikToks about this; many other Nigerian viewers have made videos commenting on it. While Ope does live in London now, he was brought up in Lincolnshire, which is a predominantly white county. According to official data from Lincolnshire County Council, approximately 96% of the county's resident population identifies within the "White" ethnic category. This might be why Ope goes for a more westernised pronunciation of his name.
American Viewer Shares Experience
One American viewer with the same name took to TikTok to say that many white people struggle to pronounce the 'eh' sound, and so she has been called Op-ay for most of her life. "I have been called that for so long, I actually also enjoy my Americanised nickname," she said. People believed that last year's Billykiss Azeez did the same thing, as the name is usually spelt 'Bilikiss' and pronounced differently due to its Arabic origins. She came out and cleared up the confusion on TikTok, saying that she did not spell it that way for the British public or to "westernise" it; she said it is simply a "stage name."
