Swahili Names - Behind the Name

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]

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.

Asha 2 f Swahili
From Swahili ishi meaning "live, exist", derived from Arabic عاش (ʿāsha).

Ashura f Swahili
From the name of an Islamic holy day that commemorates the death of Husayn ibn Ali. It is so named because it falls on the tenth day of Muharram, deriving from Arabic عشرة (ʿashara) meaning "ten".

Bahati f & m Swahili
Means "luck, good fortune" in Swahili, ultimately from Persian بخت (bakht).

Bakari m Swahili
From the Swahili name for the constellation Boötes.

Baraka m Swahili
Means "blessing" in Swahili, ultimately from Arabic بركة (baraka).

Chausiku f Swahili
Means "born at night" in Swahili.

Eshe f Swahili
Variant of Asha 2.

Fadhili m Swahili
Means "kindness, favour" in Swahili, ultimately from Arabic.

Faraji m Swahili
Means "consolation" in Swahili, ultimately from Arabic فرج (faraj).

Furaha f Swahili
Means "joy, happiness" in Swahili, borrowed from Arabic فرح (fariḥa).

Hadija f Swahili
Swahili form of Khadija.

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

Hamisi m Swahili
From Swahili Alhamisi meaning "Thursday", from Arabic الخميس (al-khamīs), itself derived from خمسة (khamsa) meaning "five".

Hawa f Arabic, Swahili
Arabic form of Eve.

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.

Imamu m Swahili
Means "spiritual leader" in Swahili, ultimately from Arabic إمام (ʾimām).

Imani f & m Swahili, African American
Means "faith" in Swahili, ultimately from Arabic إيمان (ʾīmān).

Jengo m Swahili (Rare)
Means "building" in Swahili.

Juma m Arabic, Pashto, Swahili
Means "Friday" or "week" in Arabic.

Jumanne m Swahili
Means "Tuesday" in Swahili.

Malaika f Swahili
Means "angel" in Swahili, derived from Arabic ملك (malak).

Mariamu f Swahili
Swahili form of Miriam.

Marijani m Swahili
Means "coral" in Swahili, originally a borrowing from Arabic مرْجان (marjān).

Mohamed m Arabic, Dhivehi, Swahili
Alternate transcription of Arabic محمّد (see Muhammad) chiefly used in Egypt and Algeria. This is also the usual Dhivehi and Swahili form.

Mosi f & m Swahili
Means "first (child)" in Swahili.

Mwajuma f Swahili
Contracted form of Mwanajuma.

Mwanahamisi f Swahili
Means "child born on Thursday" in Swahili.

Mwanahawa f Swahili
Combination of Swahili mwana meaning "child" and the name Hawa.

Mwanaidi f Swahili
Means "child born during the festival" in Swahili.

Mwanaisha f Swahili
Combination of Swahili mwana meaning "child" and the name Aisha.

Mwanajuma f Swahili
Means "child born on Friday" in Swahili.

Neema f Swahili
Means "divine grace" in Swahili, from Arabic نعمة (niʿma) meaning "blessing".

Nia 2 f Swahili, African American
Means "purpose, aim" in Swahili, borrowed from Arabic نيّة (nīya).

Nuru f Swahili
Means "light" in Swahili, ultimately from Arabic نور (nūr).

Omari m Swahili
Meaning uncertain, possibly a Swahili variant of Umar.

Pendo f Swahili
Variant of Upendo.

Pili 2 f Swahili
Means "second (child)" in Swahili.

Rajabu m Swahili
Swahili form of Rajab.

Ramadhani m Swahili
Swahili form of Ramadan.

Rehema f Swahili
Means "mercy, compassion" in Swahili, from Arabic رحْمة (raḥma).

Sauda f Swahili
Meaning uncertain, possibly a variant of Sawda.

Sefu m Swahili
Possibly a Swahili form of Saif.

Shabani m Swahili
Swahili form of Shaban.

Simba 2 m Swahili
Means "lion" in Swahili. This is the name of the main character in the Disney movie The Lion King (1994), about a lion cub who exiles himself after his father is murdered.

Subira f Swahili
Means "patience" in Swahili, from Arabic صبر (ṣabara).

Tatu 2 f Swahili
Means "third (child)" in Swahili.

Tumaini f & m Swahili
Means "wish, hope" in Swahili, from Arabic طمع (ṭamiʿa) meaning "to desire".

Uhuru m Swahili
Means "freedom" in Swahili.

Upendo f Swahili
Means "love" in Swahili.

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

Zawadi f & m Swahili
Means "gift" in Swahili, derived from Arabic زواد (zawād) meaning "provisions".

Zuberi m Swahili
Swahili form of Zubair.

Zuhura f Swahili, Dhivehi
Means "Venus (planet)" in Swahili and Dhivehi. Both are borrowed from Arabic الزهرة (al-Zuhara), derived from the root زهر (zahara) meaning "to shine".

Zuri f Swahili
Means "beautiful" in Swahili.

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