re: #167 SanFranciscoZionist

My understanding is that his name is from Arabic or Swahili, and means ‘blessed’, so it’s cognate to the Hebrew name “Baruch”.

“Barak” in Hebrew is lightning, though, so it may have a similar meaning in other Semitic languages, or languages like Swahili with a lot of loan words.

Swahili is a blend of Arabic and native Bantu languages, so no doubt words borrowed from Hebrew or even Jewish traders got into the mix as well.

And you’re right, it’s his last name that means burning light.