AFRICAN BABY NAMES

African Baby Names!
See below for the complete selection of nearly 300 African Baby names to choose from! Still unsure? Then check out over 50,000 other names available via the Baby Names Sitemap.

A Major Life event! 
If you have searched for ' African baby names ' then "Congratulations" must be in order and our section on Pregnancy Stages might prove helpful. Whether you are the mother or father of a new baby, a member of the family or a close friend you are sharing in a major life event and taking a serious interest in choosing a special baby name from one of the many African baby names that are available.

Choosing an African name 
As in Western cultures choosing the name of a baby is highly important. In Africa this is perhaps more so as it is believed that the actual choice of name can influence the the life of both the child and the family. An over ambitious name could have significant repercussions whereas a simple name will not carry such high expectations. Names reflecting the day of birth and the environment or circumstances surrounding the birth are common.

The origins of African baby names 
Africa is a massive continent. There are many languages and these divide into hundreds of regional dialects. There are hundreds of different Ethnic groups and these can encompass a range of beliefs including those adhering to Christianity, Muslim or tribal religions. The name's can derive from foreign languages such as Arabic, English, French, Dutch or Portuguese. African names also obviously derive from African native languages including Hausa, Zulu, Yoruba, Swahili, Shona and Kongo. 

African baby names 
Due to the many ethnic groups and languages used in the African continent African names vary from one region to another. To generalise, most people in the north of Africa are Muslim and thus tend to use Arabic name's. In central and southern Africa, as a result of European colonization, many nations are partially Christian and have French, Dutch, English or Portuguese as an official language and therefore many African baby names are of European origin.

African names - African native derivation
The selection of 300 African baby name's included in this section are derived from African native languages including Hausa, Zulu, Yoruba, Swahili, Shona and Kongo. African linguistic families are believed to have a history of more than 5000 years.