Abidemi m & f YorubaMeans
"born in my absence" in Yoruba. It is typically given to children born when the father is away.
Ade 1 m & f YorubaFrom Yoruba
adé meaning
"crown", also a short form of other names beginning with this element.
Adegoke m YorubaMeans
"the crown has ascended the mountain" in Yoruba.
Adeola f & m YorubaMeans
"the crown of wealth" in Yoruba. It is also a surname.
Adisa m & f YorubaMeans
"bundled up and set to dry" in Yoruba.
Akli m BerberMeans
"slave, servant, black" in Tamazight.
Alaba f & m YorubaMeans
"second child after twins" in Yoruba.
Alhaji m HausaMeans
"the pilgrim" in Hausa, a derivative of Arabic
حَجّ (hajj) meaning "pilgrimage, hajj". It is typically a title, not a name.
Amahle m & f ZuluMeans
"the beautiful ones" in Zulu.
Amogelang m & f TswanaDerived from Tswana
amogela meaning
"welcome, accept".
Anan 1 m & f AkanMeans
"fourth born child" in Akan.
Awotwi m & f AkanMeans
"eighth born child" in Akan.
Ayele m AmharicMeans
"become strong, become powerful" in Amharic.
Ayo f & m YorubaFrom Yoruba
ayọ̀ meaning
"joy", or a short form of other names containing this element.
Azubuike m IgboMeans
"the past is your strength" or
"your back is your strength" in Igbo.
Baako m & f AkanMeans
"first born child" in Akan.
Bakari m SwahiliFrom the Swahili name for the constellation Boötes.
Balarabe m HausaMeans
"born on Wednesday" in Hausa, derived from
Laraba "Wednesday".
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.
Boipelo m & f TswanaMeans
"joy, rejoicing" in Tswana, from
ipela meaning "to rejoice".
Boitumelo f & m TswanaMeans
"joy" in Tswana, from
itumela meaning "to be happy".
Buhle f & m Xhosa, NdebeleFrom Xhosa and Ndebele
buhle "beautiful, handsome", from the root
hle.
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.
Chidi m & f IgboMeans
"God exists" in Igbo, derived from
Chi 2, referring to God, and
dị meaning "is". It is also a short form of Igbo names beginning with
Chidi.
Chima m & f IgboMeans
"God knows" in Igbo, derived from
Chi 2, referring to God, and
má meaning "know".
Chisom f & m IgboMeans
"God goes with me" in Igbo.
Chizoba f & m IgboMeans
"God continues to save" in Igbo.
Chuks m IgboDiminutive of Igbo names beginning with the element
Chukwu meaning
"God".
Dubaku m & f AkanMeans
"eleventh born child" in Akan.
Ejike m IgboMeans
"one having strength" in Igbo.
Ekene m & f IgboMeans
"thanks, gratitude" in Igbo.
Ekwueme m IgboMeans
"one says, one does" in Igbo, indicating a person who is truthful about his behaviour.
Elias m Portuguese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, English, Dutch, Greek, Amharic, Biblical Latin, Biblical GreekForm of
Elijah used in several languages. This is also the form used in the Greek New Testament.
Enitan m & f YorubaMeans
"person with a story, storied person" in Yoruba.
Enu m & f AkanMeans
"fifth born child" in Akan.
Enzokuhle m & f Zulu, XhosaMeans
"to do good" in Zulu and Xhosa, from the roots
enza "to do" and
hle "beautiful, good".
Fadhili m SwahiliMeans
"kindness, favour" in Swahili, ultimately from Arabic.
Farai m & f ShonaFrom Shona
fara meaning
"rejoice, be happy".
Faraji m SwahiliMeans
"consolation" in Swahili (of Arabic origin).
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.
Fungai m & f ShonaFrom Shona
funga meaning
"think, judge".
Hamisu m HausaFrom Arabic
خامس (khamis) meaning
"fifth", sometimes added to a given name to indicate the fifth sibling bearing it.
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.
Ige f & m YorubaMeans
"born feet first" in Yoruba.
Itai 2 m & f ShonaFrom Shona
ita meaning
"do, act, perform".
Itumeleng m & f TswanaMeans
"be happy" in Tswana, from
itumela meaning "to be happy".
Jatau m HausaMeans
"fair-coloured, light" in Hausa.
Jugurtha m Ancient Berber (Latinized), BerberLatinized form of Berber
Yugurten meaning
"he surpassed them, he overcome them". Jugurtha was a 2nd-century BC king of Numidia who fought against the Roman Republic. He was eventually captured and executed in Rome.
Kamau m KikuyuMeaning unknown. This was the birth name of the Kenyan president Jomo Kenyatta (1897-1978).
Kato m GandaMeans
"second of twins" in Luganda.
Kefilwe m & f TswanaMeans
"I was given" in Tswana, derived from
filwe "given".
Kehinde m & f YorubaMeans
"comes last" in Yoruba. It is typically given to the second of twins.
Kelebogile f & m TswanaMeans
"I am thankful" in Tswana, derived from
leboga "to be thankful, to thank".
Kofi m AkanMeans
"born on Friday" in Akan.
Kwaku m AkanMeans
"born on Wednesday" in Akan.
Kwame m AkanMeans
"born on Saturday" in Akan.
Lawal m HausaFrom Arabic
أوّل (awwal) meaning
"first". It is sometimes added to the name of the first of multiple siblings who share the same given name.
Lesego m & f TswanaMeans
"luck, blessing" in Tswana, from
sego "blessed".
Lethokuhle f & m Xhosa, ZuluMeans
"bring goodness" in Zulu and Xhosa, from the roots
letha "to bring" and
hle "beautiful, good".
Lisakhanya f & m Xhosa, ZuluMeans
"still shining" in Xhosa and Zulu, from the roots
sa "still, continuing" and
khanya "to shine".
Lovemore m Southern AfricanFrom the English words
love and
more. This name is most common in Zimbabwe and elsewhere in Southern Africa.
Lubanzi m & f Xhosa, ZuluMeans
"it is wide" in Xhosa and Zulu, from the phrase
uthando lubanzi "love is wide".
Maina m KikuyuMeans
"sing, dance" in Kikuyu. Kikuyu males were traditionally organized into age sets or generations, each lasting about 30 years. The
Maina generation occupied the last part of the 19th century.
Marijani m SwahiliMeans
"coral" in Swahili, originally a borrowing from Arabic.