Looking to your roots for name inspo? Our baby name researchers dive into the rich tapestry of African cultures to unveil a treasure trove of over 200 unique names from African culture. From the mesmerizing landscapes of Morocco to the vibrant culture of Kenya, Africa’s diverse heritage has blessed the world with an abundance of captivating monikers. So, whether you’re seeking inspiration for your newborn bundle of joy, looking to embrace your African roots, or simply curious about the continent’s naming traditions, join us on this journey as we celebrate the beauty and significance of African names. So grab a cup of your favorite brew and join us on this marvelous expedition into the world of African naming traditions.

African Girl Names

Name	Meaning	Region
Ababuo	Child Keeps Returning	Ghana
Abeje	We asked to have this one	Yoruba, Nigeria
Abena	Born on Tuesday	Akan of West Africa
Adebola	She met honor	Yoruba of Nigeria
Adeniyi	Crown has honour	Yoruba of Nigeria
Adeola	Crown has wealth	Yoruba of Nigeria
Adjoa	Born on Monday	Akan of Ghana
Afia	Born on Friday	Akan of Ghana
Aiyana	Flower Blossom	Ethiopia
Akosua	Born on Sunday	Akan of Ghana
Alake	One to be Honored	Nigeria
Alile	She Weeps	Malawi (Yao)
Alora	My Dream	Bantu of Botswana
Amandla	Power	Zulu/Xhosa
Amondi	Born at Dawn	Luo of Kenya
Arria	Slim, Lean	Hausa of Nigeria
Asabi	One of Select Birth	Nigeria
Athiambo	Born in Late Evening	Luo of Kenya
Azalee	Singer	Bini of Nigeria
Azuka	Support is paramount	West Africa
Badu	Tenth Born Child	Ashanti of Ghana
Chikondi	Love	South Africa
Chinue	God’s Own Blessing	Ibo of Nigeria
Damilola	Blessed with Wealth	Yoruba
Delu	The Only Girl	Hausa
Eshe	Life	West Africa
Falala	Born into Abundance	Ghana
Folasade	Honor Earns a Crown	Yoruba of Nigeria
Genet	Heaven	Ethiopia
Ife	Lover of art and culture	West Africa
Isondo	The Wheel	Nguni
Kainda	Hunter’s Daughter	Tharaka of Kenya
Kanoni	LIttle Bird	Ulaya of Tanzania
Kemi	God Takes Care of Me	Yoruba of Nigeria
Keyah	In Good Health	West Africa
Kifle	My Class	Ethiopian
Kioni	She Sees Things	Kikuyu of Kenya
Kumani	Destiny	West Africa
Lewa	Beautiful	Kenya
Liseli	Light	Zambia
Loma	Peaceful	Mande of Liberia and Guinea
Macia	Orphan	Mozambique
Magara	Sit, Stay	Zimbabwe/Mashona
Maisha	Life	Kiswahili
Makadisa	Good Feelings Toward	Mashona of Zimbabwe
Malaika	Angel	Kiswahili
Mardea	Last	Ghana
Marjani	Coral	Eastern Region
Mashava	Red	Zimbabwe
Meaza	Tastes Good	Tigrinya of Eritrea and Ethiopia
Melitte	Full of Grace	Tigrinya of Eritrea and Ethiopia
Miyanda	Unknown	Zambian
Mizan	Balance	Tigrinya of Eritrea and Ethiopia
Morowa	Queen	Ghana
Nacala	Peace, Tranquility	Lomwe of Mozambique
Nakimera	Gift From God	Uganda
Nantale	Totem of the Lion	Uganda
Nathifa	Pure	Northern Africa
Netsenet	Freedom	Tigrinya of Eritrea and Ethiopia
Ngendo	Traveller	Kikuyu of Kenya
Nieleni	Hardworking Woman	Bambara of West Africa
Njeri	Belongs to a Warrior	Kikuyu of Kenya
Nnena	Like Grandmother	Ibo of Nigeria
Nomalanga	Sunny	Zulu
Nomatha	Big Surprise	Southern region
Noxolo	Peaceful	South Africa
Nyako	Girl	Kenya
Nyeri	Unknown	Embu of Kenya
Nzila	Path, Way	Tonga of Zambia
Obioma	Kind Hearted	Nigeria
Olaniyi	Glory in Wealth	Nigeria
Omarosa	My Beautiful Child	Nigeria
Omolara	Born at the Right Time	Nigeria
Onika	Who is Greater than God?	Igbo/West Africa
Orma	Free Men	Kenya
Palesa	Flower	Basotho of Lesotho
Phenyo	Victory	Botswana
Rasida	Righteous	West Africa
Sade	Honor Earns a Crown	Yoruba
Sala	Gentle	Eastern Region
Sesen	To Wish For More	Eritrea
Shasa	Precious Water	Kalahari of South Africa
Simini	Looks like Grandmother	Susu of Sierra Leone
Siyanda	We Are Growing	Zulu
Sondo	Born on Sunday	Tonga of Zambia
Subira	Rewarded Patience	Eastern region
Tadria	Unknown	Uganda
Tafariah	She who inspires awe	Ethiopia
Tarana	Born During the Day	Hausa of Nigeria
Tarisai	Look, Behold	Zimbabwe
Thandiwe	Beloved	Xulu, Xhosa, and Ndebele
Thema	Queen	Akan of Ghana
Thuraia	Star of My Life	Northern Region
Tiaret	Lioness	Algeria
Tiombe	Shy	West Africa
Vatusia	They Leave Us Behind	Ovimbundu of Angola
Venda	Of the Bantu People	South Africa
Vumba	Cause to Die	Mashona of Zimbabwe
Xinavane	Spread, Propagate	Changana/Tsonga
Xolani	Please Forgive, Peace	Xhosa, Zulu
Yatima	Orphan	Kiswahili
Zendaya	To Give Thanks	Bantu of Zimbabwe
Zhenga	African Queen	South Africa
Zweena	Beautiful	Morocco

View the full list of African Girl Names

African Boy Names

MwaniChief, LordCentral Africa

Name	Meaning	Region
Abu	Nobility	West Africa
Adeben	12th Born Child	Ghana
Adjo	Righteous	Nigeria
Adwin	Artist, Intellectual	Akan of Ghana
Ajamu	He Fights for What He Wants	Yoruba
Akello	To Bring Forth	Alur of Uganda
Akins	Brave Boy	Nigeria
Akintunde	Return of Bravery	Yoruba
Akua	Born on Wednesday	Western Africa
Alafin	King	Yoruba
Amadi	Beautiful, Good, Free Man	Ibo of Nigeria
Amazu	No One Knows Everything	Ibo of Nigeria
Anane	Fourth Son	Ghana
Asante	Thank You	Kiswahili
Ayele	Powerful	East Africa
Ayinde	We gave praise and he came	Yoruba
Badru	Born at the Full Moon	Swahili
Bandele	Follow me home	West Africa
Camara	Teacher	West Africa
Chetachi	Remember God	Igbo
Chimelu	What God has created	Igbo
Chinua	God’s own blessing	Nigeria
Davu	The Beginning	Somali
Djimon	Powerful Blood	Yoruba
Dubem	The Lord is my Shepherd	Nigeria
Ermias	God Will Uplift	Ethiopian/Amharic
Essien	The child who takes charge of outside matters	Ibibio of Nigeria
Gamada	Glad, Pleased	Indonesia (possibly)
Ilo	Light, Joyous, Sunshine	Nigeria
Ilori	Special Treasure	Nigeria
Iniko	Born During Troubled Times	Nigeria
Jawanza	Dependable	Central region
Jibri	Angel of Allah	North Africa
Kairu	Black One	Kikuyu of Kenya
Kamau	Quiet Warrior	Kikuyu of Kenya
Kame	Desolate, Arid	Kiswahili of Kenya
Kanelo	Enough	Sotho of South Africa and Lesotho
Kanoro	Sword Sharpener	Kenya
Kassa	Reparation, Compensation	Amharic/Ethiopian male name.
Kato	Second of Twins	East African/Ghanda
Kayode	He Who Brings Joy	Yoruba
Kiano	Tools of the Wizard	Kikuyu of Kenya
Kimotho	Left-Handed	Kikuyu of Kenya
Kodjo	Born on Monday	Akan of Ghana
Kofi	Born on Friday	Twi of Ghana
Kojo	Born on Monday	Akan
Kwame	Born on Saturday	Ghana
Lehana	One Who Refuses	Lesotho
Lerato	Song of my Soul	Tswana of Botswana
Mabili	The Inspired Ones	Bavili
Maitho	Eyes to See With	Kikuyu of Kenya
Mandla	Strength	Zulu
Mequanent	Village Leader	Amharic of Ethiopia
Morathi	Wise Man	Kikuyu of Kenya
Moseph	Blessed	Abua of Nigeria
Nyabera	The Good One	Luo of Kenya
Nzitunga	I Depend Only on Myself	Kinyarwanda of Rwanda
Oburu	Ash	Luo of Kenya
Ochola	Father Died While Mother was Pregnant	Luo of Kenya
Olatunde	Wealth Comes Again	Edo of Nigeria
Olujimi	God Gave Me This	Yoruba
Oringo	He Who Likes the Hunt	Luo of Kenya
Otieno	Born at Night	Kenya
Owino	Born With Umbilical Cord Around Neck	Luo of Kenya
Pelumi	With me	Yoruba of Nigeria
Phomello	Succeed	South Africa
Reon	Descendant of the King	South Africa
Roho	Soul	Kiswahili
Sabiti	Born on Sunday	Uganda
Salako	Born Covered in Membrane	Yoruba
Sanga	He Came from the Valley	Central Africa
Sautu	Salt	Tonga of Zambia
Sekani	Laugh	Northern Malawi
Senwe	Dry Stalk of Grain	Mashona of Zimbabwe
Simba	Lion	Kiswahili
Tafari	He who inspires awe	Ethiopia
Tanko	First Born Son after Several Daughters	West African
Tatau	Aristocrat	Hausa of West Africa
Taye	He Has Been Seen	Ethiopia
Tedros	Gift of God	Ethiopia
Tenen	Born on Monday	Bambara of West Africa
Tewelde	He was Born	Eritrean and Ethiopian
Tirfe	Spared	Tigrinya of Eritrea and Ethiopia
Twon	Strong, Bullish	Acholi of northern Uganda
Uchenna	God’s thoughts	Ibo
Vembo	Juice from the Loquat Tree	Mashona of Zimbabwe
Yaro	Son	Hausa of West Africa
Yeshak	He Will Laugh	Ethiopia
Yilma	May He Prosper	Amharic of Ethiopia
Zikomo	Thank You	Ngoni
Zulu	Heaven	South Africa

View the full list of African Boy Names

Gender-Neutral African Names

Name	Meaning	Region
Akande	First Born	Nigeria
Akia	First Born	Uganda
Ashanti	African Tribe Name	Ghana
Chima	God Knows	Igbo of Nigeria
Dembe	Peace	Uganda
Desta	Joy, Happiness	Amharic of Ethiopia
Farai	Rejoice	Bantu of Zimbabwe
Kijana	Youth	Kiswahili
Kimani	Sailor, Adventurer	Kukiyu of Kenya
Lilitha	Ray of light	Bantu of Zimbabwe
Makondo	War	Tonga of Zambia
Makula	Pearl	Baganda of Uganda
Mansa	King, conqueror, sultan	Mandinka
Minana	Miracle	Bantu of Zimbabwe
Mirembe	Peace	Baganda of Uganda
Morocco	The Western Kingdom	North Africa
Mugisa	Blessing	Uganda
Mukundi	Victor	Bantu of Zimbabwe
Ntsako	Joy	Tsonga of Central Africa
Obama	Slightly Bent	Luo of Kenyan
Olabisi	Increased Honors	Yoruba
Osinachi	Unknown	Nigeria
Oya	Wind Warrior Goddess	Yoruba
Rafiki	Friend	Kiswahili
Rudo	Love	Bantu of Zimbabwe
Rufaro	Happiness	Bantu of Zimbabwe
Satima	Young Bull	Maasai of Kenya and Tanzania
Shuvai	wish	Bantu of Zimbabwe
Temwani	Unknown	Zambia
Teniope	Unknown	Yoruba of Nigeria
Thando	Love	Ndebele
Themba	Trust, Hope & Faith	Zulu, Nguni
Uzo	The Road is Good	Nigeria
Xola	Stay in Peace	Xhosa of South Africa
Yohance	God’s Gift	Hausa of West Africa
Zaire	River or Person from Zaire	Kikongo
Zene	Beautiful	Nigeria
Zuva	Day	Bantu of Zimbabwe

View the full list of Gender-Neutral African Names