Discover Beautiful African American Names

From the estate of the keen one’s family (Old English); surname or family name given for a first or middle name.

Light; born at dawn (Latin).

Created name from African-American culture.

“Exalted brother” (Hebrew origin)

No meaning available

One who lives on the edge of an escarpment (Middle English); surname or family name given for a first or middle name. The surname of civil rights leader Medgar Evers is used as a first or middle name in honor of the slain activist.

No meaning available

Variation of “Shawn” with unique “-den” ending

No meaning available

“Bringer of good news” (Arabic origin)

Unique blend of “O” and “Shane”

“Ruler of the household” (German origin)

Form of Daw: Light (Arabic, North Africa).

Unique African American name

The chosen one (Arabic, North Africa; Swahili, East Africa).

No meaning available

Blend of “Darius” and “-ion” suffix, meaning “upholder of good”

No meaning available

Form of Michael: Who is like God? (Hebrew).

No meaning available

Unique African American name

No meaning available

Dweller in the valley (Old English); surname or family given for a first or middle name.

Created name from African-American culture, a form of John: God is gracious (Hebrew; New Testament).

Small one (Old Welsh).

“Pilgrim” (English origin)

Self-important person (English, from the German); surname or family name given for a first or middle name.

Form of Montague: Dweller at the pointed hill (English, from the French); surname or family name given for a first or middle name.

Form of Kateb: Writer, scribe (kah-teb—Arabic, North Africa).

Player of the rote—an early medieval stringed instrument (Old French); surname or family name given for a first or middle name.

“Brock’s town” (English origin)

“Valley” (English origin)

Modern take on “Alden,” meaning “old, wise friend”

Created name from African-American culture.

Form of David: Beloved one (Hebrew; Old Testament—King of Israel).

Unique spelling, modern African American name

Hebrew origin, meaning “God is my strength”

No meaning available

Modern African American name

“Wise counselor” (English origin)

Blend of “Ca” and “Darius”

Form of Heinrich: Ruler of a home or private property (Old German).

No meaning available

No meaning available

“Horse keeper” (French origin)

Meaning and origin unknown. Name found among free black men who lived and worked in late eighteenth-century New England.

Form of Terence: Smooth, polished one; tender (Latin).

Form of Ryan: Little king; kingly (Irish Gaelic).

Form of Jerrold, a form of Gerald: Rules by the spear (German).

Created name from African-American culture.

“Son of Japheth” (modern African American origin)

Servant of God (Arabic, North Africa; Swahili, East Africa).

Form of Evan, a form of John: God is gracious (Hebrew; New Testament).

No meaning available

Form of DaCosta: One who dwells on a slope (Galician; Italian; Jewish [Sephardic]; Portuguese); surname or family name given as a first or middle name.

No meaning available

Wanderer (Old German).

Form of Caesar: Long-haired or hairy; through use, emperor (Latin).

Variation of “Darrel” with unique spelling

“Thankful” (Swahili origin)

Fearless person, brave one; comforter, bringer of consolation (Muslim; Swahili, East Africa).

Form of Zachariah: Jehovah has remembered (Hebrew; Old Testament).

No meaning available

King (English, from the Dutch); surname or family name given for a first or middle name.

Form of Emlyn: Common Welsh name of unknown meaning (EM-lin).

Portuguese origin, meaning “son of Tavares”

Form of a place name—Gloucester, such as the city in Massachusetts, city in Canada, and borough in England.

No meaning available

Form of Oved: Servant, serving (Hebrew).

Meaning and origin unknown.

Nobleman (mar-KEE—French; MAR-quis).

Unique modern name

No meaning available

Variation of “Khalil”

The crown honored us (Yoruba, Nigeria).

Unique blend of “Jah” and “Sir”

Form of Burkhard: Hardy protection; strong as a castle (German).

“Sacred name” (Greek origin, popularized in African American culture)

Kingly (Swahili, East Africa).

Meaning and origin unknown. Possibly derived from the name of botanic gardens in Jackson, Mississippi—the Mynelle Gardens.

The king likes me (ah-bah-FEH-mee—Yoruba, Nigeria).

Servant of God (Old Testament; Hebrew).

“My God is Yahweh” (Hebrew origin, widely used in African American communities)

No meaning available

Form of Aldrich: Old, wise ruler (German).

Wry or crooked mouth (Scottish Gaelic); also a Scottish clan name.

No meaning available

“Bringer of treasure” (Persian origin)

No meaning available

Form of Rudolph, a form of Rudolf: Famous wolf (Old German).

Acute hearing (Greek).

Place name—city in Japan (KOH-bay).

God will uplift (Hebrew; Old Testament).

Form of Cornelius: Like a horn (Latin).

Meaning unknown (Sierra Leone).

No meaning available

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

“Cliff” (English origin)

Created name from African-American culture, a form of Troy: At the place of the curly-haired people (Old French).

Son of the right hand (Hebrew; Old Testament).