An African family name ripe for adoption in honor of Nelson Mandela, the South African activist imprisoned for almost thirty years for his antiapartheid activities.

In the Igbo culture of Nigeria, the name Nnamdi is given to baby boys who are thought to be reincarnations of their grandfathers. The name is familiar via Nnamdi Asomugha, a former NFL player married to Kerry Washington.

Sekani was the fastest-rising boy name of 2019, inspired by the character Sekani Carter in the 2018 movie The Hate U Give.

A common unisex name used frequently in South Africa.

A simple and straightforward choice from northwest Africa.

Rhythmic, strong, and buoyant.

Ibo is short but striking. Another, unrelated but equally appealing name is Ivo.

Unusual name chosen for her son by actress Nia Long, who combined it with the even more unusual literary middle name, Zhivago.

Strong name from the Esan language of Nigeria, with a satisfyingly specific meaning for a child's place in the family.

Not long ago, the name of this central African republic was firmly in place-name territory and not seen as baby appropriate. But those boundaries are moving so quickly that all kinds of place-names that were once not considered as baby names, from Alaska to Morocco to Chicago to, yes, Congo are on the list. The place-name Congo is taken from the people and language of the Kingdom of Kongo. In that language, the word kongo means "gather".

A very common boys' name (and nickname) in Nigeria that some Americans will recognize as the name of one of the main characters on NBC's The Good Place.

Predominantly used in Nigeria, Ikemefuna is a name of Igbo origin, with a hopeful and determined meaning. It appears in Chinua Achebe's classic novel, Things Fall Apart, borne by an ill-fated boy who is given by his clan as a sacrifice.

The Ashantis of Ghana traditionally use this animated name for boys born on Monday. The girls' equivalent is Adwoa, pronounced ahj-wa.

In the Shona language of souther Africa, this simple and wearable boys' name means love.

Energetic but mellow.

The Akan people of Ghana and the Ivory Coast frequently name their children after the day of the week they were born and the order in which they were born. Most Ghanaians have a name using this system (think Kofi Annan, whose name means born on a Friday).

This town in northern Libya could find a spot on the name map.

Rhythmic and unusual.

Derived from the Igbo name Ositadimma, Osita comes from the longer phrase Osi-ta-dị-mma-ọdịbalụ-gboo meaning "if it starts to get better today it started early". A powerful meaning with a simple short form, Osita is borne by Nigerian actor Osita Iheme, and is the name of a character in the TV show The Day of the Jackal.

Two z's equal double pizzazz.