Unclear, several folk etymologies exist. A common folk etymology claims it comes from the phrase "ọwá fadé yìí jì ọ", ultimately from ọwá (“king”) + fi (“to use”) + adé (“crown”) + yìí (“this”) + jì (“to gift, to entrust”), literally “The King gifted you a crown”. * The title Déjì replaced the original title Àjàpadà. The story attached to this phrase comes from a future Déjì of Àkúrẹ́ being gifted a crown by his grandfather, usually attributed to the Ọwá Òbòkun (king of Ilesha Kingdom), and the title become a nickname that later developed into the title. The story of a grandfather-king giving his future king-grandson is a common story in Yorùbá folklore, see Asunkúngbadé. Also possibly from Edo Udezi (“leopard hunter”)