African Baby Names

Africans believe that the name of the baby can work like a luck factor for him or her for the rest of his life so choosing the right name is highly important for them. They refrain from choosing an over ambitious name that might lead to the child and the family facing problems for the rest for their lives. They tend to choose names that would reflect the day of birth and the environment or circumstances on that day. In Africa there are innumerable ethnic groups, which have equally large number of beliefs, which are a merge of Christian, Muslim, and African old tribal beliefs. African names can be of Arabic, English, French or Dutch origin, apart from the very obvious their own native languages like Swahili, Hausa, Zulu, Shona and Kongo. The African names vary from one region to the other, yet I would give you a general list of names.

African Boy Names

These are the following names that are quite popular when naming a boy in Africa.

• The name Abdi means "my servant". The name is African in origin.
• Abdalla means "Servant of God". This name is African in origin, precisely Swahili.
• Abayomi means "the bringer of happiness". This name is Nigerian in origin.
• Ade means a "crown" or "royal".
• Bello means "Helper or a person who helps in promoting Islam".
• Baabar means "lion or the king of jungle". It is a variant of Babar.
• Camara means a "teacher" in African.
• Chatha means "ending".
• Chiamaka means, "God is splendid" in the African language.
• Dumaka means, "a helping hand" in the African language.
• Dakarai means "happiness" in African.
• Duante means "a wagon maker" in African.
• Effiom means "a crocodile" in the language of Africa. This is quite a popular name in Africa.
• Elimu means "knowledge" in Africa and it is popular name.
• Erasto means "man of peace" in Africa.
• Essien is the name for the "sixth-born son" and it means the same.
• Faraji means consolation in Africa.
• Gamba means a "warrior" in Africa.
• Haben means, "pride" in some of the African languages.
• Jawara means "peace and love" and is quite a popular name for boys.

African Girl Names

• Adia means "a gift that is given by God" as in a gift of a child.
• Abiba means a child born after her grandmother died. It is a quite popular name in Africa.
• Abeni means a girl who is born on Tuesday.
• Afua means a girl who is born on Friday.
• Bahati means a parent’s thankfulness for the birth of the child and the name reflects the same that literally means, " My luck is good".
• Baako means First born in Africa.
• Beyonce is a famous girl name after the celebrity singer Beyonce Knowles. This name means " someone who is beyond others".
• Baal-gad means the idol of fortune and felicity. It is a Bibilical name that is non-gerderized though.
• Cabul is a biblical name that means, "displeasing or dirty. This is also a non-gerderized name.
• Cacey is an Irish name used by Africans that means "vigilant".
• Dalila is an African name that means, "Gentleness is in her soul".
• Dalili is also a name similar to the previous one, which means "sign". This name reflects the belief of the parents that the birth of the child actually brings a special message from God.
• Ebere means mercy and it is quite popular a name in Africa.
• Eshe means "life" and many people choose this name for their child.
• Faizah means "victorious". This name is actually of Muslim origin.
• Gaynell is the name for a "happy shiny thing’ and parents love to name their daughters Gaynell.
• Many people also name their daughters Gimbya that means "a princess".
• Habika is also a popular name and it means "sweetheart".
• Ice is also a very popular name for African girls since it means the "Supreme Goddess".
• Jamila is also a popular name that means "beautiful".
• Keisha is an African name which means "Favorite".

There are many such names that are quite popular in Africa. Here in this article you would definitely get an idea as to how African names are.