Keep Up With Global Black News

Sign up to our newsletter to get the latest updates and events from the leading Afro-Diaspora publisher straight to your inbox.

Avatar photo
BY Mildred Europa Taylor, 7:41am June 21, 2018,

Here’s the real meaning of your African name

Avatar photo
by Mildred Europa Taylor, 7:41am June 21, 2018,

O-Z

OGECHI f Western African, Igbo
Short form of OGECHUKWUKAMA.

OGECHUKWUKAMA f  Western African, Igbo
Means “God’s time is the best” in Igbo.

OGHENEKARO m & f Western African, Urhobo
Means “God first” in Urhobo.

OGHENEKEVWE m & f Western African, Urhobo
Means “God provided for me” in Urhobo.

OGHENERO m & f Western African, Urhobo
Means “God exists” in Urhobo.

OLAMIDE m & f Western African, Yoruba
Means “my wealth has arrived” in Yoruba.

OLAYINKA f Western African, Yoruba
Means “wealth surrounds me” in Yoruba.

OLUBUNMI f Western African, Yoruba
Means “gift of God” in Yoruba.

OLUCHI m & f Western African, Igbo
Means “God’s work” in Igbo.

OLUFUNKE m & f Western African, Yoruba
Means “God has cared for” in Yoruba.

OLUFUNMILAYO f & m Western African, Yoruba
Means “God gave me joy” in Yoruba.

OLUFUNMILOLA f & m Western African, Yoruba
Means “God gives me wealth” in Yoruba.

OLUWAFUNMILAYO f & m Western African, Yoruba
Variant of OLUFUNMILAYO.

OLUWAKANYINSOLA m & f Western African, Yoruba
Means “God has added sweetness to my wealth” in Yoruba.

OLUWASEGUN m & f Western African, Yoruba
Means “God has been victorious” in Yoruba.

OLUWASEUN m & f Western African, Yoruba
Means “we thank God” in Yoruba.

OLUWASEYI f & m Western African, Yoruba
Means “God made this” in Yoruba.

OLUWATOYIN m & f Western African, Yoruba
Means “God is worthy to be praised” in Yoruba.

OLUWAYEMISI f & m Western African, Yoruba
Means “God honours me” in Yoruba.

OMOBOLANLE f & m Western African, Yoruba
Means “a child who met wealth at home” in Yoruba.

OMOLARA f Western African, Yoruba
Means “a child is family” in Yoruba.

ONI f Western African, Yoruba
Possibly means “born in sacred abode” in Yoruba.

ONYEKA f Western African, Igbo
Short form of ONYEKACHI.

ONYEKACHI f & m Western African, Igbo
Means “who is greater than God?” in Igbo.

ONYEKACHUKWU m & f Western African, Igbo
Variant of ONYEKACHI, using Chukwu as the last element, which is the extended form of Chi meaning “God”.

OPEYEMI m & f Western African, Yoruba
Means “I should give praise” in Yoruba.

OTOBONG m & f Western African, Ibibio
Means “from God” in Ibibio.

OYIBO m & f Western African, Urhobo
Means “white” in Urhobo.

PALESA f Southern African, Sotho
Means “flower” in Sotho.

PEMPHERO m & f Southern African, Chewa
Means “prayer” in Chewa.

PENJANI m & f Southern African, Tumbuka
Means “seek for, look for” in Tumbuka.

PILIRANI m & f Southern African, Chewa
Means “persevere, endure” in Chewa.

PULENG f Southern African, Sotho
Means “in the rain” in Sotho.

REFILWE m & f Southern African, Tswana
Means “we were given” in Tswana.

RETHA f Southern African, Afrikaans, English
Short form of MARGARETHA.

RUDO m & f Southern African, Shona
Means “love” in Shona.

RUFARO f Southern African, Shona
Means “happiness” in Shona.

RUMBIDZAI f Southern African, Shona
Means “praise” in Shona.

RUTENDO f & m Southern African, Shona
Means “faith” in Shona.

SANAA  f Eastern African, Swahili
Means “artwork” in Swahili.

SAUDA f Eastern African, Swahili
Means “dark complexion” in Swahili.

SEBLE f Eastern African, Amharic
Means “harvest” in Amharic.

SEKAI f Southern African, Shona
Means “be humourous” in Shona.

SETHUNYA f Southern African, Tswana
Means “bloom, flower” in Tswana.

SIBONAKALISO m & f Southern African, Zulu
From Zulu isibonakaliso meaning “sign, token, proof”.

SIBONGILE f Southern African, Zulu, Ndebele
Means “we are thankful” in Zulu and Ndebele.

SIBUSISIWE f Southern African, Ndebele
Means “we are blessed” in Ndebele.

SIMISOLA f Western African, Yoruba
Means “rest in wealth” in Yoruba.

SITHEMBILE f & m Southern African, Zulu
Means “we trust” in Zulu.

SSANYU f Eastern African, Ganda
Means “joy” in Luganda.

SUBIRA f Eastern African, Swahili
Means “patience” in Swahili.

TADALA m & f Southern African, Chewa
Means “we have been blessed” in Chewa.

TAFADZWA m & f Southern African, Shona
Means “we are pleased” in Shona.

TAJEDDIGT f Northern African, Berber
Means “flower” in Tamazight.

TAKONDWA m &  f Southern African, Chewa
Means “we are glad” in Chewa.

TAMANDANI m & f Southern African, Chewa
Means “we have exalted” in Chewa.

TAONGA f & m Southern African, Tumbuka
Means “we are thankful” in Tumbuka.

TAPIWA f Southern African, Shona
Means “given” in Shona.

TARIRO  fSouthern African, Shona
Means “hope” in Shona.

TATENDA m & f Southern African, Shona
Means “thank you” in Shona.

TEMITOPE f & m  Western African, Yoruba
Means “enough to give thanks” in Yoruba.

TENDAI m & f Southern African, Shona
Means “be thankful” in Shona.

THANDEKA f Southern African, Zulu, Ndebele
Means “loved” in Zulu and Ndebele.

THANDI f Southern African, Xhosa, Zulu, Ndebele
Short form of THANDIWE.

THANDIWE f Southern African, Xhosa, Zulu, Ndebele
Means “loving one” in Xhosa, Zulu and Ndebele, from thanda “to love”.

THANDO m &  f Southern African, Xhosa, Zulu, Ndebele
From Xhosa, Zulu and Ndebele thanda meaning “to love”.

THEMA f  Western African, Akan
Means “queen” in Akan.

THOKO m & f Southern African, Chewa
Short form of THOKOZANI.

THOKOZANI m & f Southern African, Chewa
Means “thank” in Chewa.

THULILE f Southern African, Zulu
Means “quiet, peaceful” in Zulu.

TIDIR f Northern African, Berber
Feminine form of IDIR.

TIFAWT f Northern African, Berber
Means “light” in Tamazight.

TINASHE m &  f Southern African, Shona
Means “we are with God”, from Shona ti “we”, na “with”, and ishe “lord, God”.

TIONGE f & m Southern African, Tumbuka
Means “let us be thankful” in Tumbuka.

TITILAYO f Western African, Yoruba
Means “eternal happiness” in Yoruba.

TITRIT f Northern African, Berber
Feminine form of ITRI.

TIYAMIKE m & f Southern African, Chewa
Means “we praise” in Chewa.

TSHOLOFELO  f Southern African, Tswana
Means “hope, expectation” in Tswana.

TUMELO m & f Southern African, Sotho, Tswana
Means “faith” in Sotho and Tswana.

UDO  f & m Western African, Igbo
Means “peace” in Igbo.

UDUAK m & f Western African, Ibibio
Means “will, desire” in Ibibio.

UDUAKOBONG m & f Western African, Ibibio
Means “God’s will” in Ibibio.

UFUOMA m & f Western African, Urhobo
Means “peace of mind” in Urhobo.

UNATHI m & f Southern African, Xhosa
Means “he or she is with us” in Xhosa, from the prefix u- meaning “he, she” and nathi meaning “with us”.

UZOMA m & f Western African, Igbo
Means “good way” in Igbo.

WAIRIMU f Eastern African, Kikuyu
From Kikuyu irimu meaning “ogre, giant”. In the Kikuyu origin legend Wairimu is of one of the nine daughters of Mumbi.

WAMBUI f Eastern African, Kikuyu
Means “zebra” in Kikuyu. This is one of Mumbi’s nine daughters in the Kikuyu origin legend.

WANANGWA m & f Southern African, Tumbuka
Means “freedom” in Tumbuka.

WANGARI f Eastern African, Kikuyu
From Kikuyu ngarĩ meaning “leopard”. In the Kikuyu origin legend this is the name of one of the nine daughters of Mumbi.

WANGUI   f Eastern African, Kikuyu
From Kikuyu ngũi meaning “song leader”. This is one of Mumbi’s nine daughters in the Kikuyu origin legend.

WANJIKU f Eastern African, Kikuyu
Meaning unknown. This is one of Mumbi’s nine daughters in the Kikuyu origin legend.

WANJIRU f Eastern African, Kikuyu
Possibly from Kikuyu njĩra meaning “way, path”. In the Kikuyu origin legend this is the name of one of the nine daughters of Mumbi.

WERKNESH f  Eastern African, Amharic
Variant transcription of WORKNESH.

WORKNESH f  Eastern African, Amharic
Feminine form of WORKNEH.

YAA f Western African, Akan
Means “born on Thursday” in Akan.

YAMIKANI m & f Southern African, Chewa
Means “be grateful, praise” in Chewa.

YEJIDE f Western African, Yoruba
Means “image of the mother” in Yoruba.

YETUNDE f Western African, Yoruba
Means “mother has returned” in Yoruba.

YEWANDE f Western African, Yoruba
Means “mother has returned” in Yoruba.

YEWUBDAR f Eastern African, Amharic
Means “beautiful beyond limits” from Amharic wub “beautiful” and dar “limit, horizon, frontier”.

ZODWA f Southern African, Zulu, Xhosa, Ndebele
Short form of NTOMBIZODWA.

ZOLA f Southern African, Zulu
Means “quiet, tranquil” in Zulu.

ZURI f Eastern African, Swahili
Means “beautiful” in Swahili.

Last Edited by:Ismail Akwei Updated: June 21, 2018

Conversations

Must Read

Connect with us

Join our Mailing List to Receive Updates

Face2face Africa | Afrobeatz+ | BlackStars

Keep Up With Global Black News and Events

Sign up to our newsletter to get the latest updates and events from the leading Afro-Diaspora publisher straight to your inbox, plus our curated weekly brief with top stories across our platforms.

No, Thank You