Enzokuhle m & f Zulu, XhosaMeans
"to do good" in Zulu and Xhosa, from the roots
enza "to do" and
hle "beautiful, good".
Kefilwe m & f TswanaMeans
"I was given" in Tswana, derived from
filwe "given".
Fungai m & f ShonaFrom Shona
funga meaning
"think, judge".
Unathi m & f XhosaMeans
"he or she is with us" in Xhosa, from the prefix
u- meaning "he, she" and
nathi meaning "with us".
Talatu f HausaFrom Hausa
Talata meaning
"Tuesday" (of Arabic origin).
Uju f IgboMeans
"fullness, plenty" in Igbo.
Fadhili m SwahiliMeans
"kindness, favour" in Swahili, ultimately from Arabic.
Akli m BerberMeans
"slave, servant, black" in Tamazight.
Ibrahim m Arabic, Malay, Indonesian, Pashto, Urdu, Kazakh, Tatar, Bashkir, Avar, Bosnian, Dhivehi, Albanian, Hausa, SwahiliArabic form of
Abraham, also used in several other languages. This form appears in the Quran.
Jummai f HausaFrom Hausa
Jumma'a meaning
"Friday" (of Arabic origin).
Chi 2 m & f Igbo Mythology, IgboMeans
"god, spiritual being" in Igbo, referring to the personal spiritual guardian that each person is believed to have. Christian Igbo people use it as a name for the personal Christian god (as opposed to the omnipresent
Chukwu, though the names are used synonymously in some contexts). This can also be a short form of the many Igbo names that begin with this element.
Tanina f BerberFrom the name of a legendary bird, similar to an eagle or a phoenix.
Adaeze f IgboMeans
"eldest daughter of the king" in Igbo.
Sani 2 m HausaFrom Arabic
ثانٍ (thānin) meaning
"second", a derivative of
اثنان (ithnān) meaning "two". If two or more siblings share the same given name, this name may be appended to that of the second.
Balarabe m HausaMeans
"born on Wednesday" in Hausa, derived from
Laraba "Wednesday", from Arabic
الأربعاء (al-ʾarbiʿāʾ), itself derived from
أربعة (ʾarbaʿa) meaning "four".
Ama f AkanMeans
"born on Saturday" in Akan.
Amogelang m & f TswanaDerived from Tswana
amogela meaning
"welcome, accept".
Kehinde m & f YorubaMeans
"comes last" in Yoruba. It is typically given to the second of twins.
Ladi f HausaFrom Hausa
Lahadi meaning
"Sunday" (of Arabic origin).
Nii m GaFrom a Ga word used as a masculine royal title.
Enitan m & f YorubaMeans
"person with a story, storied person" in Yoruba.
Fadzai f ShonaFrom Shona
fadza meaning
"please, make happy".
Masego f TswanaMeans
"blessings" in Tswana, from
sego "blessed".
Chima m & f IgboMeans
"God knows" in Igbo, derived from
Chi 2, referring to God, and
má meaning "know".
Filbert m Eastern AfricanPossibly a form of
Philibert. It is particularly used in Tanzania due to track star Filbert Bayi (1953-), who set a world record running the 1500 meter in 1974.
Opeyemi f & m YorubaMeans
"gratitude is suitable for me" in Yoruba.
Nnamdi m IgboMeans
"my father is alive" in Igbo. This name is given to a child when it is believed that he is a reincarnation of his grandfather.
Abosede f YorubaMeans
"comes with the start of the week" in Yoruba, given when the child is born on Sunday.
Ayo f & m YorubaFrom Yoruba
ayọ̀ meaning
"joy", or a short form of other names containing this element.
Wanjala m LuhyaMeans
"born during famine", from Luhya
injala meaning "hunger, famine".
Olu m YorubaShort form of Yoruba names beginning with
olú or
olúwa meaning
"lord, God".
Zikomo m & f ChewaMeans
"thank you, greeting" in Chewa.
Adannaya f IgboMeans
"eldest daughter of her father" in Igbo.
Okorie m IgboMeans
"boy (born on) Orie" in Igbo,
Orie being one of the four days of the Igbo week.
Tafari m Amharic (Rare)Possibly means
"he who inspires awe" in Amharic. This name was borne by Lij Tafari Makonnen (1892-1975), also known as Haile Selassie, the last emperor of Ethiopia. Rastafarians (
Ras Tafari meaning "king Tafari") revere him as the earthly incarnation of God.
Mubiru m GandaMeaning unknown. This is the name of a figure in Ganda mythology associated with forests and hunting.
Boitumelo f & m TswanaMeans
"joy" in Tswana, from
itumela meaning "to be happy".
Wangari f KikuyuFrom Kikuyu
ngarĩ meaning
"leopard". In the Kikuyu origin legend this is the name of one of the nine daughters of
Mumbi.
Obinna m IgboMeans
"heart of the father" in Igbo, from
óbì "heart, mind" and
ńnà "father".
Nneka f IgboMeans
"mother is greater" in Igbo.
Zanokuhle f & m Xhosa, ZuluMeans
"come with goodness" in Zulu and Xhosa, from the roots
za "to come, to approach" and
hle "beautiful, good".
Bello m Fula, HausaPossibly from Fula
ballo meaning
"helper". This name was borne by Muhammad Bello (1781-1837), the second leader of the Sokoto Caliphate.
Simiyu m LuhyaMeans
"born during the dry season" in Luhya.
Itumeleng m & f TswanaMeans
"be happy" in Tswana, from
itumela meaning "to be happy".
Massinissa m Ancient Berber (Latinized), BerberLatinized form of Berber
Masensen meaning
"their lord". This was the name of a 3rd-century BC Berber chieftain. He became the first king of Numidia after allying himself with the Roman Republic against Carthage.
Charlize f AfrikaansFeminine form of
Charles using the popular Afrikaans name suffix
ize. This name was popularized by South African actress Charlize Theron (1975-), who was named after her father Charles.
Enu m & f AkanMeans
"fifth born child" in Akan.
Tendai m & f ShonaFrom Shona
tenda meaning
"be thankful, thank".
Salisu m HausaFrom Arabic
ثالث (thālith) meaning
"third", sometimes added to a shared given name to indicate the third sibling bearing it.
Elias m Portuguese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, English, Dutch, Greek, Amharic, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical GreekForm of
Elijah used in several languages. This is also the form used in the Greek New Testament, as well as some English translations.
Sethunya f TswanaMeans
"bloom, flower" in Tswana, derived from
thunya "to bloom".
Buhle f & m Xhosa, NdebeleFrom Xhosa and Ndebele
buhle "beautiful, handsome", from the root
hle.
Esi f AkanMeans
"born on Sunday" in Akan.
Wamalwa m LuhyaMeans
"born during the brewing season" in Luhya.
Akua f AkanMeans
"born on Wednesday" in Akan.
Kahina f BerberDerived from Arabic
الكاهنة (al-Kāhina) meaning
"the diviner, the fortuneteller". This was a title applied to the 7th-century Berber queen Dihya, who resisted the Arab expansion into North Africa.
Nyambura f KikuyuFrom Kikuyu
mbura meaning
"rain". This is the name of one of the nine daughters of
Mumbi in the Kikuyu origin legend.
Omondi m LuoMeans
"born early in the morning" in Luo.
Tunde m YorubaMeans
"return, come again" in Yoruba, also a short form of names containing that element.
Netsai f ShonaFrom Shona
netsa meaning
"trouble, annoy, bother".