NyokafPopular Culture, African American, Jamaican Patois The name of a character from two 15-part movie serials in the early 1940s: Jungle Girl (1941) and Perils of Nyoka (1942). The serials were based on the novel Jungle Girl (1932) by Edgar Rice Burroughs, in which the titular character was named Fou-tan... [more]
OntariomAfrican American (Rare) From the name of the Canadian province, or from the name of Lake Ontario (see the place name Ontario), which is probably derived from the Huron word ontarí:io meaning "great lake".... [more]
OrenthalmAfrican American (Rare) This given name is best known for being the first name of the retired American football player and actor O. J. Simpson, who was born in 1947 as Orenthal James Simpson. According to a 1968 interview with LIFE magazine, Simpson himself does not know the meaning and origin of his first name, telling the reporter that his aunt was the one who had named him and that she would only ever tell him that she had named him after a French or Italian actor.... [more]
OrmafAfrican American, English Allegedly from a Kenyan word meaning "free men." The Orma people live in Eastern Kenya along the lower Tana River. However, this name may be a feminine form of Ormond.
Oshaem & fAfrican American Perhaps a variant of Oshea. This is borne by Oshae Brissett (1998-), a Canadian basketball player of Jamaican descent. A female bearer is American boxer Oshae Jones (1998-).
PecolafAfrican American, American (South) Meaning unknown, perhaps an invented name. The American author Toni Morrison used it in her novel The Bluest Eye (1970) for the protagonist, a young African-American girl named Pecola Breedlove who descends into madness as a result of abuse.
PendafAfrican American From the Swahili verb kupenda "to love, to like, to be pleasant".
PeolafAfrican American Used in Fannie Hurst's novel Imitation of Life (1933) and its 1934 film adaptation, where it belongs to a young light-skinned African-American woman who decides to pass as white.
PharaohmEnglish, Mormon, African American Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the rulers of all Ancient Egyptian dynasties. Historically, however, "pharaoh" only started being used as a title for the king during the New Kingdom, specifically during the middle of the eighteenth dynasty, after the reign of Hatshepsut... [more]
PrathiafAfrican American The Rev. Dr. Prathia Hall, a theologian and ethicist, was active in SNCC and a prominent civil rights movement speaker—she was said to have influenced Dr. King’s ‘I have a dream’ speech, having used the phrase repeatedly in a speech he heard in 1962.
ProphetmAfrican American (Modern), English (African) From the English word prophet, ultimately from Greek προφήτης (prophetes) meaning "one who speaks for a god" (itself from πρό (pro) "before" and φημί (phemi) "to speak, to declare").
QuintessafAfrican American (Rare) Variant of Quintella inspired by the word quintessence, meaning "the fifth element", "aether". According to Medieval science, the quintessence was the material that filled the region of the universe beyond the terrestrial sphere... [more]
QuranmAfrican American Variant of Karon 1, the spelling altered to correspond with the name of the central religious text of Islam. The word Quran literally means "book, reading, recitation" in Arabic, derived from the verb قَرَأَ (qaraʾa) meaning "to read (aloud), to recite".
QuvenzhanéfAfrican American (Modern, Rare) This name was first borne by American actress Quvenzhané Wallis (2003-). It is derived from the initial syllables of her parents' names, Qulyndreia and Venjie, combined with zhané, an altered form of the Swahili word jini meaning "fairy".
RaamlafAfrican American In the case of American television writer Raamla Mohamed she was named after a little girl who had the same name her mom later added an extra a so her name could be pronounced correctly
ReginaefAfrican American (Modern) Elaboration of Regina using the popular phonetic element nay. This name was used by American rapper Lil Wayne for his daughter born 1998 (possibly after his stepfather, Reginald).
RonrecomAfrican American (Rare) Variant of Ronrico, the name of a brand of rum (which was originally made by the Ron Rico company of Puerto Rico), composed of the Spanish words ron "rum" and rico "rich". The American actor RonReaco Lee (1977-) told a reporter in 2015 that his mother derived his name from the rum brand.