Behind the Name: African American Names

AFRICA (1)fAfrican American (Rare)
From the name of the continent, which is of Latin origin, possibly from the Afri people who lived near Carthage in North Africa. This rare name is used most often by African-American parents.

AKEEMmAfrican American
Perhaps a variant of HAKIM.

ANDREmEnglish, African American
English form of ANDRÉ.

ANTOINEmFrench, African American
French form of Antonius (see ANTHONY).

ANTWANmAfrican American
Variant of ANTOINE, in use since the 1960s.

BRAYLONmAfrican American (Modern)
An invented name, using the same sounds found in names such as Braden and Jalen.

DAQUANmAfrican American (Modern)
Combination of the popular name elements Da and quan.

DEANDREmAfrican American
Combination of the popular name prefix De and ANDRE.

DEANGELOmAfrican American
Combination of the popular name prefix De and ANGELO.

DEDRICKmAfrican American
From a surname which was derived from the given name DIEDERIK.

DEIONmAfrican American (Modern)
Variant of DION. A notable bearer is retired American football player Deion Sanders (1967-).

DEONmEnglish, African American
Variant of DION.

DEONTEmAfrican American (Modern)
Blend of DEON and DANTE.

DESHAUNmAfrican American
Combination of the popular name prefix De and SHAUN.

DESHAWNmAfrican American
Combination of the popular name prefix De and SHAWN.

IESHAfAfrican American (Modern)
Variant of AISHA. It was popularized by the song 'Iesha' (1991) by Another Bad Creation.

IMANIf & mEastern African, Swahili, African American
Means "faith" in Swahili, ultimately of Arabic origin.

IVORYm & fAfrican American
From the English word for the hard, creamy-white substance which comes from elephant tusks and was formerly used to produce piano keys.

JALENmAfrican American (Modern)
An invented name. In America it was popularized in the 1990s by basketball player Jalen Rose (1973-), whose name was a combination of those of his father James and maternal uncle Leonard.

JAMAARmAfrican American (Rare)
Variant of JAMAR.

JAMARmAfrican American
Recently created name, possibly a blend of JAMAL and LAMAR. It has been in general use in America since the 1970s.

JAQUANmAfrican American (Modern)
Combination of the popular name elements Ja and quan.

JAYLENm & fAfrican American (Modern), English (Modern)
Variant of JALEN. It can also be a feminine elaboration of JAY (1).

JAYLINm & fAfrican American (Modern), English (Modern)
Variant of JALEN. It can also be a feminine elaboration of JAY (1).

JAYLONmAfrican American (Modern)
Variant of JALEN.

KALISHAfAfrican American (Rare)
Combination of the popular name prefix Ka and LISHA.

KEISHAfAfrican American
Recent coinage, possibly invented, possibly based on KEZIAH.

KENYAfEnglish, African American
From the name of the African country. The country is named for Mount Kenya, which in the Kikuyu language is called Kĩrĩnyaga meaning "the one having stripes". It has been used as a given name in the English-speaking world since the 1960s.

KESHAUNmAfrican American (Modern)
Combination of the popular name prefix Ke and SHAUN.

KESHAWNmAfrican American (Modern)
Combination of the popular name prefix Ke and SHAWN.

KESHIAfAfrican American
Probably a variant of KEISHA.

KEYSHAfAfrican American (Rare)
Variant of KEISHA.

KIANA (2)fAfrican American
Variant of QIANA.

KISHAfAfrican American
Variant of KEISHA.

LADONNAfAfrican American
Combination of the popular prefix La with the name DONNA.

LAGINAfAfrican American (Rare)
Combination of the popular prefix La with the name GINA.

LAKEISHAfAfrican American
Combination of the popular prefix La with the name KEISHA.

LAKESHIAfAfrican American
Combination of the popular prefix La with the name KESHIA.

LAKISHAfAfrican American
Combination of the popular prefix La with the name KISHA.

LAMARmEnglish, African American
From a French and English surname, originally from a place name in Normandy, which was derived from Old French la mare meaning "the pool".

LASHAWNf & mAfrican American
Combination of the popular prefix La with the name SHAWN.

LASHAYmAfrican American (Rare)
Combination of the popular name prefix La and SHAY (1).

LASHONDAfAfrican American
Combination of the popular prefix La with the name SHONDA.

LATANYAfAfrican American
Combination of the popular prefix La with the name TANYA.

LATASHAfAfrican American
Combination of the popular prefix La with the name TASHA.

LATISHAfAfrican American
Variant of LETITIA.

LATONYAfAfrican American
Combination of the popular prefix La with the name TONYA.

LATOYAfAfrican American
Combination of the popular prefix La with the name TOYA.

LAWANDAfAfrican American
Combination of the popular prefix La with the name WANDA.

LEBRONmAfrican American (Rare)
Meaning unknown, probably an invented name. This is the name of basketball player LeBron James (1984-).

MARQUESmAfrican American (Modern)
Variant of MARQUIS.

MARQUISmAfrican American
From a noble title which was derived from the Old French word marchis "march, borderland", which originally referred to someone who ruled on the borderlands of a realm.

MARQUISEmAfrican American (Modern)
Variant of MARQUIS. Technically, marquise is the feminine form of the title marquis.

MARQUITAfAfrican American
Feminine variant of MARQUIS.

NATISHAfAfrican American (Rare)
Variant of NATASHA, probably modeled on LATISHA.

NIKEISHAfAfrican American (Rare)
Combination of the name prefix Ni and the name KEISHA.

QIANAfAfrican American (Modern)
From the word for the silk-like material, introduced by DuPont in 1968 and popular in the fashions of the 1970s.

QUANNAfAfrican American (Rare)
Combination of the popular name prefix Qua and ANNA.

QUIANAfAfrican American (Modern)
Variant of QIANA.

QUIANNAfAfrican American (Rare)
Variant of QIANA.

RASHAUNmAfrican American (Rare)
Combination of the prefix Ra with the name SHAUN.

RASHAWNmAfrican American (Modern)
Combination of the prefix Ra with the name SHAWN.

SHANICEfAfrican American (Modern)
Combination of the popular name elements Shan and ice.

SHANIKAfAfrican American (Modern)
Combination of the popular name elements Shan and ka.

SHANIQUAfAfrican American (Modern)
Combination of the popular name elements Shan and qua.

SHELENAfAfrican American (Rare)
Probably a combination of the prefix She and LENA.

TAJUANAfAfrican American (Rare)
Combination of the prefix Ta with the name JUANA.

TALISHAfAfrican American (Rare)
Combination of the popular name prefix Ta and LISHA.

TANEKAfAfrican American (Rare)
Variant of TANIKA.

TANESHAfAfrican American
Variant of TANISHA.

TANIKAfAfrican American
Invented name, probably modeled on TAMIKA and influenced by TANYA.

TANIQUAfAfrican American (Rare)
Combination of the popular name element Tan (from names such as TANYA) and the common name suffix qua.

TANISHAfAfrican American
Combination of the popular name element Tan (from names such as TANYA) and the common name suffix sha.

TISHAfEnglish, African American
Short form of LETITIA or LATISHA.

TORY (1)mAfrican American
Meaning unknown, possibly a diminutive of SALVATORE.

TYREEKmAfrican American (Modern)
Variant of TYRIQ.

TYRESEmAfrican American (Modern)
An invented name based on the popular name syllable Tyr (from names such as TYRONE).

TYRIKmAfrican American (Modern)
Variant of TYRIQ.

TYRIQmAfrican American (Modern)
Probably a blend of TYRONE and TARIQ.

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