Hausa Names - Behind the Name

Abdullahi m Hausa
Hausa form of Abd Allah.

Abubakar m Hausa, Fula
Form of Abu Bakr used in Nigeria.

Aisha f Arabic, Urdu, Hausa, Swahili, Kazakh, African American
Means "living, alive" in Arabic. This was the name of Muhammad's third wife, the daughter of Abu Bakr. Some time after Muhammad's death she went to war against Ali, the fourth caliph, but was defeated. Her name is used more by Sunni Muslims and less by Shias.... [more]

Aishatu f Hausa
Hausa variant of Aisha.

Alhaji m Hausa
Means "the pilgrim" in Hausa, a derivative of Arabic حجّ (ḥajj) meaning "pilgrimage, hajj". It is typically a title, not a name.

Alheri f Hausa
Means "the charitable, the good" in Hausa, from Arabic خير (khayr).

Aliyu m Hausa
Hausa form of Ali 1.

Amina 1 f Arabic, Bosnian, Tatar, Bashkir, Chechen, Ingush, Kazakh, Urdu, Swahili, Hausa
Derived from Arabic أمن (ʾamina) meaning "safe, secure". This was the name of the Prophet Muhammad's mother, who died when he was young.

Aminu m Hausa
Hausa form of Amin.

Asabe f Hausa
From Hausa Asabar meaning "Saturday" (of Arabic origin).

Asma'u f Hausa
Hausa form of Asma.

Ayuba m Hausa
Hausa form of Job.

Balarabe m Hausa
Means "born on Wednesday" in Hausa, derived from Laraba "Wednesday", from Arabic الأربعاء (al-ʾarbiʿāʾ), itself derived from أربعة (ʾarbaʿa) meaning "four".

Bello m Fula, Hausa
Possibly from Fula ballo meaning "helper". This name was borne by Muhammad Bello (1781-1837), the second leader of the Sokoto Caliphate.

Bilƙisu f Hausa
Hausa form of Bilqis.

Bitrus m Hausa
Hausa form of Peter.

Bukar m Hausa
Short form of Abubakar.

Ɗanjuma m Hausa
From Hausa ɗa "son" and Jumma'a "Friday".

Ɗanladi m Hausa
From Hausa ɗa "son" and Lahadi "Sunday".

Ɗanlami m Hausa
From Hausa ɗa "son" and Alhamis "Thursday".

Faɗimatu f Hausa
Hausa form of Fatima.

Hadiza f Hausa
Hausa form of Khadija.

Hadizatu f Hausa
Hausa variant form of Khadija.

Hafsat f Hausa
Hausa form of Hafsa.

Hafsatu f Hausa
Hausa form of Hafsa.

Halima f Arabic, Urdu, Bengali, Hausa, Swahili
Feminine form of Halim. Halima was the name of the foster mother of the Prophet Muhammad.

Halimat f Hausa
Hausa variant of Halima.

Halimatu f Hausa
Hausa variant of Halima.

Hamisu m Hausa
From Arabic خامس (khāmis) meaning "fifth", a derivative of خمسة (khamsa) meaning "five". It is sometimes added to a given name to indicate the fifth sibling bearing it.

Haruna 2 m Hausa, Fula
Hausa and Fula form of Harun.

Hauwa f Hausa
Hausa form of Hawa.

Hauwa'u f Hausa
Hausa form of Hawa.

Ibrahim m Arabic, Malay, Indonesian, Pashto, Urdu, Kazakh, Tatar, Bashkir, Avar, Bosnian, Dhivehi, Albanian, Hausa, Swahili
Arabic form of Abraham, also used in several other languages. This form appears in the Quran.

Jamila f Arabic, Urdu, Hausa
Feminine form of Jamil. This was the name of a wife of the caliph Umar.

Jatau m Hausa
Means "fair-coloured, light" in Hausa.

Jummai f Hausa
From Hausa Jumma'a meaning "Friday" (of Arabic origin).

Kyauta m & f Hausa
Means "gift" in Hausa.

Ladi f Hausa
From Hausa Lahadi meaning "Sunday" (of Arabic origin).

Lawal m Hausa
From Arabic أوّل (ʾawwal) meaning "first". It is sometimes added to the name of the first of multiple siblings who share the same given name.

Lawali m Hausa
Variant of Lawal.

Mamman m Hausa
Contracted form of Muhammadu.

Maryamu f Hausa
Hausa form of Maryam.

Muhammadu m Hausa, Fula
Hausa and Fula form of Muhammad.

Musa m Arabic, Turkish, Hausa, Urdu, Bengali, Indonesian, Malay
Arabic form of Moses appearing in the Quran.

Rabiu m Hausa
From Arabic رابع (rābiʿ) meaning "fourth", a derivative of أربعة (ʾarbaʿa) meaning "four". It is sometimes added to a given name to indicate the fourth sibling bearing it.

Rakiya f Hausa
Hausa form of Ruqayya.

Safiya f Hausa, Kazakh, Arabic
Hausa and Kazakh form of Safiyya. It is also an alternate transcription of the Arabic name.

Salisu m Hausa
From Arabic ثالث (thālith) meaning "third", sometimes added to a shared given name to indicate the third sibling bearing it.

Sani 2 m Hausa
From 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.

Shehu m Hausa
From Arabic شيخ (shaykh) meaning "elder, chief, sheikh", a title of Usman dan Fodio (1754-1817), the founder of the Sokoto Caliphate.

Talatu f Hausa
From Hausa Talata meaning "Tuesday" (of Arabic origin).

Umar m Arabic, Urdu, Uzbek, Tajik, Kyrgyz, Indonesian, Hausa
Means "flourishing, living long" in Arabic, related to Arabic عمر (ʿumr) meaning "life". Umar was a companion and strong supporter of the Prophet Muhammad who became the second caliph of the Muslims. He is considered to be one of the great founders of the Muslim state. The name was also borne by a 12th-century poet from Persia, Umar Khayyam.

Umaru m Hausa
Hausa variant of Umar.

Usman m Urdu, Indonesian, Hausa
Urdu, Indonesian and Hausa form of Uthman.

Yaƙubu m Hausa
Hausa form of Yaqub.

Yalwa f & m Hausa
Means "abundance" in Hausa.

Zainab f Arabic, Urdu, Hausa, Malay, Indonesian
Alternate transcription of Arabic زينب (see Zaynab), as well as the usual form in several languages.

Zainabu f Swahili, Hausa
Swahili and Hausa form of Zaynab.

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