African Last Names
Many African surnames are younger than they look. In much of the continent, families traditionally used clan names, praise names or a father’s given name rather than a fixed inherited surname, and the modern system spread with colonial registries, churches and schools. The result is a rich mix: Yoruba surnames that are whole sentences, Akan names that record birth order, Luo names that note the hour of birth, Zulu clan names honored with praise poetry, and Ethiopian “last names” that are simply a father’s first name.
Below are 100+ African last names grouped by region, with meanings where they are known. For first names, see African boy names and African girl names; for one country in more depth, try Nigerian last names.
Yoruba last names
Yoruba surnames often praise royalty (Ade-), wealth or honor (Ola-), or an orisha such as Ogun or Ifa (Ogun-, Fa-).
| Surname | Meaning | Region / people |
|---|---|---|
| Adeyemi | The crown suits me | Yoruba, Nigeria |
| Adebayo | The crown meets joy | Yoruba, Nigeria |
| Adeleke | The crown prevails | Yoruba, Nigeria |
| Afolabi | Born into wealth and honor | Yoruba, Nigeria |
| Akinola | Bravery and wealth | Yoruba, Nigeria |
| Balogun | War chief (a traditional title) | Yoruba, Nigeria |
| Bankole | Help me build a house | Yoruba, Nigeria |
| Ogundele | Ogun has come home | Yoruba, Nigeria |
| Oladipo | Wealth has multiplied | Yoruba, Nigeria |
| Olatunji | Honor has reawakened | Yoruba, Nigeria |
| Oyewole | The title has entered the house | Yoruba, Nigeria |
| Ogunleye | Ogun has honor | Yoruba, Nigeria |
| Olawale | Wealth has come home | Yoruba, Nigeria |
| Oyelowo | The title is honorable | Yoruba, Nigeria |
Igbo and Hausa last names
Several Igbo surnames record the market day of an ancestor’s birth (Eke, Orie, Afor, Nkwo). Hausa surnames in northern Nigeria and Niger are often Arabic given names that became family names.
| Surname | Meaning | Region / people |
|---|---|---|
| Okafor | Male born on Afor market day | Igbo, Nigeria |
| Okeke | Male born on Eke market day | Igbo, Nigeria |
| Okonkwo | Male born on Nkwo market day | Igbo, Nigeria |
| Okoye | Male born on Orie (Oye) market day | Igbo, Nigeria |
| Nwankwo | Child born on Nkwo day | Igbo, Nigeria |
| Nwachukwu | Child of God | Igbo, Nigeria |
| Eze | King | Igbo, Nigeria |
| Obi | Heart; also homestead | Igbo, Nigeria |
| Anyanwu | Sun | Igbo, Nigeria |
| Onyekachi | Who is greater than God? | Igbo, Nigeria |
| Chukwu | God | Igbo, Nigeria |
| Obiora | Heart of the people | Igbo, Nigeria |
| Bello | Helper (from Arabic) | Hausa-Fulani, Nigeria |
| Danjuma | Son born on Friday | Hausa, Nigeria and Niger |
| Abubakar | From Abu Bakr, the first caliph | Hausa-Fulani, Sahel |
| Musa | Form of Moses | Hausa, Sahel |
Ghanaian last names and Akan birth-order names
Akan families traditionally name children by birth order, and many of those names became surnames. Kwame Nkrumah’s surname, for instance, marks a ninth-born child.
| Surname | Meaning | Region / people |
|---|---|---|
| Piesie | First-born | Akan, Ghana |
| Manu | Second-born | Akan, Ghana |
| Mensah | Third-born son | Akan, Ghana |
| Annan | Fourth-born | Akan, Ghana |
| Anum | Fifth-born | Akan, Ghana |
| Nsiah | Sixth-born | Akan, Ghana |
| Nsowah | Seventh-born | Akan, Ghana |
| Botwe | Eighth-born | Akan, Ghana |
| Nkrumah | Ninth-born | Akan, Ghana |
| Badu | Tenth-born | Akan, Ghana |
| Asante | From the Asante (Ashanti) people and kingdom | Akan, Ghana |
| Osei | Noble; the royal name of Asante kings | Akan, Ghana |
| Agyeman | Savior of the nation | Akan, Ghana |
| Owusu | Widespread Akan family name | Akan, Ghana |
Kenyan, Tanzanian and Ugandan last names
Luo and Kalenjin surnames often describe the time or setting of birth; Ganda names in Uganda are tied to clans, twins and birth order.
| Surname | Meaning | Region / people |
|---|---|---|
| Otieno | Born at night | Luo, Kenya |
| Odhiambo | Born in the evening | Luo, Kenya |
| Ochieng | Born when the sun is high | Luo, Kenya |
| Omondi | Born at dawn | Luo, Kenya |
| Onyango | Born mid-morning | Luo, Kenya |
| Owino | Born with the umbilical cord around the neck | Luo, Kenya |
| Okello | Born after twins | Acholi and Luo, Uganda |
| Kipchoge | Born near the grain store | Kalenjin, Kenya |
| Kiptoo | Born when visitors had come | Kalenjin, Kenya |
| Kamau | Common Kikuyu family name | Kikuyu, Kenya |
| Mwangi | One of the most common Kikuyu surnames | Kikuyu, Kenya |
| Wasswa | First-born twin | Ganda, Uganda |
| Kato | Second-born twin | Ganda, Uganda |
| Mukasa | Named for the Ganda god of Lake Victoria | Ganda, Uganda |
| Nyerere | Caterpillar | Zanaki, Tanzania |
| Mwinyi | Chief, lord | Swahili, Tanzania |
Ethiopian and Eritrean last names
Ethiopians and Eritreans generally don’t have inherited surnames: a person’s “last name” is their father’s first name. So Haile Gebrselassie’s father was named Gebrselassie.
| Surname | Meaning | Region / people |
|---|---|---|
| Tesfaye | My hope | Amharic, Ethiopia |
| Bekele | He has grown, flourished | Amharic, Ethiopia |
| Tadesse | He has been renewed | Amharic, Ethiopia |
| Desta | Joy | Amharic, Ethiopia |
| Mengistu | His kingdom | Amharic, Ethiopia |
| Alemu | His world | Amharic, Ethiopia |
| Abera | He shone | Amharic, Ethiopia |
| Gebremariam | Servant of Mary | Amharic and Tigrinya |
| Gebremedhin | Servant of the Savior | Amharic and Tigrinya |
| Woldemariam | Son of Mary | Amharic and Tigrinya |
| Haile | Power, might | Amharic, Ethiopia |
| Girma | Majesty | Amharic, Ethiopia |
| Kebede | He became weighty, honored | Amharic, Ethiopia |
| Tekle | Plant, offspring (as in Tekle Haymanot, “plant of faith”) | Ge’ez, Ethiopia and Eritrea |
Zulu, Xhosa, Swazi, Sotho and Shona last names
In Southern Africa a surname is also a clan name (isibongo), recited with praise names. Shona and Ndebele families in Zimbabwe also carry a clan totem (mutupo), often an animal.
| Surname | Meaning | Region / people |
|---|---|---|
| Dlamini | Royal clan of Eswatini | Swazi, Eswatini and South Africa |
| Nkosi | King, lord | Zulu, Ndebele, Swazi |
| Ndlovu | Elephant | Zulu and Ndebele |
| Zulu | Heaven, sky | Zulu, South Africa |
| Khumalo | Clan of the Ndebele royal line | Zulu and Ndebele |
| Ngcobo | Zulu clan name | Zulu, South Africa |
| Mthembu | Zulu clan name | Zulu, South Africa |
| Mthethwa | Clan of the Mthethwa paramountcy, early allies of Shaka | Zulu, South Africa |
| Sithole | Clan name | Zulu and Ndebele |
| Mahlangu | Royal clan | Ndebele, South Africa |
| Mokoena | Of the crocodile (kwena) totem | Sotho, South Africa and Lesotho |
| Nkomo | Cattle | Ndebele, Zimbabwe |
| Mhlanga | Reed | Zulu and Ndebele |
| Moyo | Heart (a totem) | Shona, Zimbabwe |
| Shumba | Lion (a totem) | Shona, Zimbabwe |
| Dube | Zebra (a totem) | Zulu, Ndebele and Shona |
| Mazibuko | Possibly “of the river fords” | Zulu, South Africa |
North African last names
Arabic and Amazigh (Berber) naming customs meet here. Ben or Ould means “son of,” and Bou “father of” or “the one with.” See also Arabic last names.
| Surname | Meaning | Region / people |
|---|---|---|
| Mohamed | Praised | Egypt and across North Africa |
| Ahmed | Most praised | Egypt, Sudan, Maghreb |
| Hassan | Handsome, good | Egypt, Sudan, Morocco |
| Ibrahim | Form of Abraham | Egypt, Sudan |
| Benali | Son of Ali | Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco |
| Belkacem | Son of Qasim | Algeria |
| Haddad | Blacksmith | Across the Arab world |
| Mansour | Victorious | Egypt, Maghreb |
| El Fassi | From Fez | Morocco |
| Ould Ahmed | Son of Ahmed | Mauritania |
| Ben Youssef | Son of Joseph | Tunisia, Morocco |
| Najjar | Carpenter | Egypt and across the Arab world |
Tips for researching an African last name
- Identify the language first. The same spelling can mean different things in different languages, and a name like Asante is the Akan people’s name in Ghana but a word for “thank you” in Swahili.
- Remember that many surnames are only a few generations old. Older records may list a father’s name, a clan name or a praise name instead.
- For Ethiopian and Eritrean ancestry, follow the chain of fathers’ first names rather than a single surname.
- Clan names in Southern Africa come with praise names (izithakazelo); elders can often recite them and link you to related clans.
- African American surnames usually come from different histories; see Black last names for that story.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most common last name in Africa?
Across the continent, Mohamed and its variants are by far the most common, driven by Egypt, Sudan and North and West Africa. In South Africa, Dlamini, Nkosi and Ndlovu are among the most frequent.
Why do some Nigerian surnames start with “Oko”?
In Igbo, Oko- indicates a male, and the rest of the name gives the market day of birth: Okafor (Afor), Okeke (Eke), Okonkwo (Nkwo), Okoye (Orie).
Do Ethiopians have last names?
Traditionally no. Ethiopians and Eritreans use their own given name followed by their father’s given name, and sometimes their grandfather’s.
What African last name means king?
Eze (Igbo) and Nkosi (Zulu and Xhosa) both mean king.
What do Akan surnames like Mensah and Nkrumah mean?
They are birth-order names: Mensah marks a third-born son and Nkrumah a ninth-born child.