kunta was a character's name in the book roots, written by alex haley. it was loosely based off his history. kunta was the main character and the only one by that name. it was his african name and not the one given to him by his slave master (the whole scene where he keeps getting beaten because he kept saying his name was kunta and not toby). when roots first came out in the 70's, there was a surge of babies named kunta kente. it's a powerful name, not one that's shameful.