International Baby Names
African Girl Names
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About this list
African girl names hail from all around the continent and offer an uncommon yet usable complement of choices. A few African girl names are starting to catch on in the US, including Zola and Zuri, which feature the exciting Z initial.
Along with Zola and Zuri, other African names for girls in the US Top 1000 include Amara, Anika, Nala, Zendaya, and Zora. One-of-a-kind African girl names given to fewer than five baby girls at last count include Ameyo, Lulit, Nemy, and Thulile.
Africa is a vast continent with an enormous range of diverse cultures, each with its own names and naming traditions. Some girl names from Africa have meanings related to family relationships or to the time or circumstances of a child's birth.
Here is our selection of the best African girl names.
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The names
Amara
Igbo, Sanskrit, Arabic
"grace, immortal, tribe"
Strong, attractive, and stylish, Amara is a true multicultural choice enjoying some popularity in both the US and the UK. In the US Top 1000 since the turn of this century, Amara has been holding…
Zuri
Swahili
"good, beautiful"
A Swahili name with a positive meaning, Zuri came to the attention of American parents when an Ohio zoo used it for a female giraffe. It subsequently shot up the charts in 2010, peaking in 2022 when…
Nala
African, meaning unknown
A Disney name—Nala was the friend who became the wife of Simba, hero of The Lion King . It debuted on the US Top 1000 in 2015. Keenen Ivory Wayans used it for his daughter.
Anika
Dutch, German, Slovene, and Polish diminutive of Anne, Hindi, Sanskrit
"grace; army, splendour"
Sweet but spiky, Anika is a multicultural choice with broad appeal. Familiar in the UK, Czechia, Poland, and the US, it is in the Top 100 in Slovenia. It is additionally popular in Bangladesh, India,…
Zora
Serbo-Croatian
"dawn"
Zora is a meaningful literary heroine name honoring Zora Neale Hurston, an important black writer and leader of the Harlem Renaissance. Spelled Zorah, it is a biblical place name, and is also the…
Adeola
Yoruba
"crown of wealth; crown has honor"
A Yoruba surname as well as a unisex given name.
Achol
African
"second born"
Achol is an African name that usually means more specifically, "second born after the first child dies," making it a name often used for rainbow babies. Achol Ayor is a South Sudanese model.
Naledi
Sesotho
"Star"
An African option for people looking for alternatives for Stella and Estelle, with a starry meaning.
Alaba
Yoruba, Nigerian
"second child after twins"
A striking option among African girl names, reminiscent of the up-and-coming name Alaia.
Johari
Arabic and Swahili from Persian
"jewel"
An attractive and traditional unisex name perfect for a cross-cultural child. Despite the current popularity of names ending in -ari, Johari is surprisingly rare in the US, though recent years have…
Ama
Ewe, Akan, Ghanaian, Cherokee
"born on Saturday; water"
Ama is a day name used by the Akan people of Ghana for girls born on Saturday. Names that reference a baby's birth by day of the week, time of day, or season of the year are common in many African…
Amadi
African
"free man"
Though this is traditionally a male name, it can work for a girl in our culture. Might also be considered a short form of the Italian Amadea.
Abeni
Yoruba, Nigerian
"we prayed for her and she arrived"
Perhaps the most perfect name for a long-awaited daughter.
Ameyo
Akan, Ewe
"born on Saturday"
Ameyo is a common name in West Africa, where it is traditional to give a child a name that reflects their time of birth. Ameyo means "born on Saturday" and is derived from the word mene . Kwame is…
Akosua
Twi, Ewe, Ghanaian
"born on Sunday"
Akosua means "born on a Sunday," which relates the name to the sun and thus to fire. The Akan people of Ghana and the Ivory Coast frequently name their children after the day of the week they were…
Amma
Tamil, Akan
"mother, or born on a Saturday"
An anagram of Mama, in tune with its Tamil meaning. Amma is also a Ghanaian name. The Akan people of Ghana and the Ivory Coast frequently name their children after the day of the week they were born…
Aminata
Arabic
"trustworthy, faithful"
This elaboration of the Arabic amīn, meaning "trustworthy" or "to feel safe" was a fast riser in 2022, but has yet to crack the Top 1000. Latvian musical artist Aminata Savadogo's 2021 song "It's…
Aramide
Yoruba
"my people have arrived"
Aramide is a rare name in the US but better-known in Nigeria, where it's a choice from the Yoruba language.
Asha
Sanskrit; Swahili
"hope; life"
Asha is an Indian name that comes from the Sanskrit word for hope or desire, but it is also a Swahili name derived from Aisha, meaning life. Since the ascendance of Ashley through the 1980s and 90s,…
Afia
African
"born on Friday"
This variant of the more-difficult Afua, from the Akan language of what is now Ghana in West Africa, is a traditional "day name" that can make a perfectly pretty modern choice.