Tanzanian Names

Male Names
  • Jamil (Arabic) - Handsome; grace [African, Arabic and English speaking countries]
Female Names
  • Amina (African) - Peaceful, secure [African, Arabic, English and Swahili speaking countries]

    Aminah or Amina was the name of the mother of the Muslim prophet Muhammed, founder of Islam.

    It was also the name of a Nigerian princess of the royal family of Zazzau (now known as Zaria) in the 16th century. She is famous for her military

  • Amira (Arabic) - Princess; prosperous [African, Arabic, English, Hebrew and Swahili speaking countries]

    As a Hebrew name, Amira may come from the Hebrew meaning "speech" or "treetop" if written with the letter Aleph, or "sheaf of corn" if written with the letter Ayin. It is also the feminine form of the Arabic name Amir.

  • Anisa (Hebrew) - Grace; favour [African, English and Swahili speaking countries]

    Anisa can be a variation on the Hebrew name Anna, or a different spelling of the Arabic/Swahili name Aneesa.

  • Asha (Sanskrit) - Hope [African, English, Hindi and Swahili speaking countries]

    Asha is a fairly uncommon name, breaking into the US top 1000 girls' names again in 2006 in 976th place.

  • Fatima (Arabic) - Abstinence [Arabic, English, Portuguese, Spanish and Swahili speaking countries]

    Though Fatima originated as an Arabic and Swahili name, it is commonly used as a Spanish and Portuguese name. Fatima was the name of a daughter of the prophet Mohammed.

    Fátima is a town in Portugal where three children believed that the Vi

  • Imani (Swahili) - Faith, belief [English and Swahili speaking countries]

    Imani is a Swahili word meaning "faith."

  • Jamila (Arabic) - Beautiful [African, Arabic, English and Swahili speaking countries]
  • Jana (Hebrew) - God is gracious [African, English, German and Swahili speaking countries]
  • Johanna (Hebrew) - God is gracious [Dutch, English, French, German and Swahili speaking countries]
  • Kali (Sanskrit) - Time; black [African, English, Hindi and Swahili speaking countries]

    Kali is the Hindu triple goddess of creation, preservation, and destruction
    Kali (spelled with a "long" a in Sanskrit) is a feminine form of the word "kala," meaning "time". It also means "black". It is a name of the Godess Durga.
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  • Latifah (Arabic) - Gentle, kind [African, Arabic, English and Swahili speaking countries]
  • Layla (Arabic) - Dark beauty [African, English and Swahili speaking countries]

    In Persian and Arabic poetry, Layla was a beautiful girl with whom the poet Majnun fell in love. When Majnun asked for her hand in marriage, Layla's father refused to give his permission to the match. Layla was married off to another man and later died.

  • Lila (Persian) - Dark-haired beauty; night [African, English, Hindi and Swahili speaking countries]

    Simple spelling for Leila.
    As a Sanskrit name, Lila [lee-LAH] was the name of a queen who was enlightened by the Goddess Saraswati.

  • Malia (Hebrew) - Uncertain, maybe bitter [African, English and Swahili speaking countries]

    Hawaiian form of Mary.

  • Malika (Arabic) - Queen [African, Arabic, English, Hindi, Hungarian and Swahili speaking countries]

    Malika is the female derivation of Malik, a term of Arabic origin used in Persia as the title for a Queen consort (i.e. not ruling, although Islamic tradition does not forbid this to women). Frequently also used as part of a lady's name.

    Ma

  • Mila (Latin) - Rival; emulating [African, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, English, Polish, Serbian, Spanish, Swahili and Russian speaking countries]

    Mila is a pet form of various names in eastern European languages, including the Czech Miloslava and Dobromila, the Polish Kamill and Emilia and the Russian Ludmilla. It is also used in Spanish for Emelia.

    It is also the Serbian and Bulgari

  • Nadia (Russian) - Hope [African, Arabic, English, Swahili and Russian speaking countries]

    Nadia has two sources. It can either be the English form of Nadya, which itself is the pet form of Nadezhda and is Russian for "hope" or it can be a variant of Nadiyya which, in Arabic, means "moist, tender, delicate".

    Famous bearers inclu

  • Naima (Arabic) - Tranquil [African, Arabic, English and Swahili speaking countries]
  • Samira (Arabic) - Pleasant community [African, Arabic, English and Swahili speaking countries]

    Feminine form of Samir

  • Sanaa (Arabic) - Brilliance [African, Arabic, English and Swahili speaking countries]

    This Arabic name has become more popular in the United States since the actress Sanaa Lathan became famous.

  • Tisha (English) - N/A [African, English and Swahili speaking countries]

    Respelling of Titia, from names such as Letitia.

  • Tosha (Latin) - (Christ's) birthday [African, English and Swahili speaking countries]
  • Zaida (Arabic) - Prosperous; increasing [African, Arabic, English and Swahili speaking countries]
Gender Neutral Names
  • Adin (Hebrew) - Slender; voluptuous [African, English, Hebrew and Swahili speaking countries]

    Adin is a masculine Hebrew name meaning either "slender" or "voluptuous."
    In the Old Testament Adin (also found as Adina - which is now the feminine form) was a son of Shiza and one of King David’s warriors (I Chronicles 11:42).
    Adin is al