African Girl Names

Namibian supermodel Behati Prinsloo, who has walked the runway for every designer from Prada to Versace to Vera Wang, has introduced us to this Afrikaans version of Beate or Beatrice, a rhythmic twist on an international favorite.

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 Written in the Heavens (Milky Way)" was nominated for Song of the Year at the 2022 Latvian Music Recording Awards, potentially bringing the name into the spotlight.

The raja sequence of sounds gives it a regal feel.

Dynamic and creative; common in Africa, challenging here. Pronunciation isn't as difficult as you'd guess, but everyone will have to ask. Many favor n-GO-zee, but a native speaker tells us that it is closer to n-GAW-zee, and we've found at least one n-GAH-zee, too.

Short form of Adebayo

Akosua means "born on a Sunday," which relates the name to the sun and thus to fire.

Related to the more common Solana, Salana has a pleasantly rhythmic pan-cultural feel.

An anagram of Mama, in tune with its Tamil meaning.

Everyone is loving Lu- names nowadays, so why not add this sweet East African one to your list?

Samiya is a name used by parents of both Arabic and African ancestry. Spelling variations include Samiyah, Samiah, and Samia.

Kenya is fairly commonly heard as a girl's name, but its capital city makes a much more exceptional choice.

Lissa might be an abbreviation of Melissa, but it's more substantial in its own right: Lissa is the name of a supreme mother goddess in African mythology and an Arabic symbol of rebirth.

A variant of Asha, which is related to the classic Arabic name Aisha, yet another way to say life. Other on-the-rise names with this uplifting meaning: Zoe and Vivian varieties such as Viviana, Viveca, and Vivienne.

Despite its varied cultural ties, Zizi still sounds like a cancan dancer or a fluffy lapdog.

Perhaps the most perfect name for a long-awaited daughter.

A worthy update for Imani.

Author Toni Morrison is an acknowledged master of naming, and Sethe, the name of one of the main characters of Beloved, which can be pronounced as Seth or Seth-eh, relates to the male biblical name Seth but is also the name of the Egyptian god of confusion.

Gugu is derived from the word igugu, meaning "treasure." It's commonly used as a nickname for Gugulethu.

Simple African name all-but-unknown in the U.S. and Europe, which is exactly why it might make a perfect choice. Similarity to such popular names as Ava and Eva (and the Irish Aoife) makes it more familiar, but potentially more confusing.

A name with the kind of pan-cultural feel that's in vogue now... and forever. A French variant, Marjane, belongs to the author of the iconic graphic memoir Persepolis.