Discover Beautiful African American Names

From the cottage or country estate; barn for cows (Old English).

Italian origin, meaning “brave”

“Thankful” (Swahili origin)

“Dark” (Irish origin)

Prudent, discreet, wise (Irish Gaelic).

Sea friend (Old English).

Variation of “Giovanni,” meaning “God is gracious”

Peaceful one (English).

River crossing; road (Old English).

Modern African American name

Goes through one place to another, referring to a shooting star (Shawnee, Native North American).

English origin, meaning “beautiful town”

“My father is alive” (Igbo origin)

From the New Testament, John the Baptist (bah-TEEST—French). Commonly used with the combination name, Jean-Baptiste.

“Wolf shield” (English origin)

“Great” (English origin)

Meaning and origin unknown; surname or family name given for a first or middle name.

Unique African American name

Form of Sean, the Irish form of John: God is gracious (Hebrew; New Testament).

“Young lion” (Latin origin)

“God is gracious” (English origin)

Word name—Question; doubt (Latin).

From the old manor (Anglo-Saxon); surname or family name given for a first or middle name.

Form of Gregory: Vigilant; watchful one (Greek; Latin).

No meaning available

Form of Brittany: Place name—A peninsula in northwestern France (Latin).

Place name—city in Rhode Island. Name found among free and enslaved black men in late eighteenth-century New England.

No meaning available

Representation of the letter “B.”

Form of Raymond: Mighty or wise protector (Old German).

No meaning available

Bold and daring (Old German).

Form of Quincy: Dweller at the fifth son’s estate (Old French).

“Great hill” (Scottish origin)

“To tame” (Greek origin, widely used)

Modern African American name

Form of Paris: Character in Greek mythology.

One who makes and repairs barrels (English, from the Middle Dutch); surname or family name given for a first or middle name.

Dweller at the priest’s place (Old English).

Form of Carl: Freeman, peasant, man (English).

From the wealthy one’s hill or hill castle (Anglo-Scottish, from the Old French); surname or family name given for a first or middle name.

No meaning available

Form of Timothy: He who honors God (Greek; New Testament).

Fuller or thickener of cloth (Middle English); surname or family name given for a first or middle name.

Blend of “Jar” and “Mar”

Form of Basil and Bazil: Kingly; magnificent (Latin).

Modern African American name

Form of Maxwell: Greatest in excellence; great pool or spring (Irish; Latin; Scottish); surname or family name given for a first or middle name.

Created name from African-American culture.

No meaning available

Created name from African-American culture, a form of Follet: One who is mad (French); surname or family name given for a first or middle name.

Form for a name that begins with “Red,” such as Redford, a form of Radford, a place name in England.

Meaning and origin unknown.

No meaning available

Hebrew origin, meaning “warrior”

Latin origin, meaning “from Hadria”

No meaning available

“Of Marcus” (modern American origin)

No meaning available

Son of the white-skinned warrior (Gaelic); surname or family name given for a first or middle name.

Form of Stephanos: Crowned one (Greek).

Unique African American name with “-ell” suffix

Form of Lamar: Famous for land (Old German).

A form of Randolf: Shield wolf (Old English). The wolf suggests courage.

“Keeper of grain” (English origin)

Created name from African-American culture.

Modern blend of “Tray” and “Von”

Famous for land (Old German).

Unique variation of “Brendan,” meaning “prince”

Form of Claudius, an old Roman family name: Lame one, suggesting that a handicap may be the stimulus for great achievement, as with the two Roman emperors with the name Claudius (Latin).

Form of Wilbert: Resolute, brilliant one (Old German).

Free holder of land (Middle English).

No meaning available

English form of Jacob from the Old Spanish Jayme: Supplanter; one who takes the place of; protector (Hebrew; Old Testament).

No meaning available

No meaning available

Unique variation of “Dakarai”

Created name from African-American culture.

“Darling, beloved” (English origin, adapted)

Blend of “De” and “Monte,” meaning “mountain”

“Warm” (Scottish origin)

Meaning and origin unknown.

“Desiring peace” (German origin)

Form of Rashid: Rightly guided (Arabic, North Africa).

Hebrew origin, meaning “the Lord is my God”

“Of the past” (Swahili origin)

No meaning available

Second King of Rome (Latin).

Stylized form of “Javon”

“Of Darius” (modern African American origin)

Meaning and origin unknown.

No meaning available

No meaning available

Form of name beginning with “Mal,” such as Malachi (messenger of God—Hebrew; Old Testament), Malcolm (disciple of St. Columba—Scottish Gaelic), and Malcus or Malvin (polished chief—Irish Gaelic; council friend—Old English).

English origin, meaning “woad hill”

Form of Ewan: Born of the yew tree (Scottish, from the Gaelic).

“Land” (German origin)

Form of Marcus: Little hammer; little warlike one (Latin). Rooted in Mars, the Roman god of war.

No meaning available

“Great Lord” (Welsh origin, popularized in African American culture)